Smallville: Siren
by bulbus
Summary: A girl with a crush on Clark gets the ability to control men with the sound of her voice. *New epilogue
1. Ch1

Siren A Smallville Fanfiction By Peter Amico Chapter 1  
  
"How many of you can identify the plant I'm holding now?" Mr. Dellen asked his biology class. He held up a sickly looking fern to make sure everyone could see it. "Hmmm. Anyone?" He looked out over the group of students, waiting for an answer. Clark shifted the straps on his backpack and glanced at Pete. They had been looking forward to this field trip for over a month, if for nothing else, a change of pace from school. So far though, it was turning into just another lecture, almost not worth the effort of hiking out here. Pete smiled back at him and rolled his eyes as Mr. Dellen continued on. "It's called a Fractal Fern. It's fairly common to these woods and it's the main food for the deer here, but it's hardly tasty enough for me to suggest a bite." There were a few chuckles from the class as he threw it away and stooped down to find another one.  
  
"Ow!" Chloe said behind them. "Why does it have to be so buggy out here?" she asked, rubbing her arm gingerly. She stared up at the forest canopy in accusation.  
  
"That's why it's called the great outdoors, Chloe," Pete teased her. "It's full of big, killer animals like mosquitoes and flies."  
  
"Don't laugh," she warned him, "these things are eating me alive. She took a closer look at him and her eyes narrowed. "How come I don't see you swatting away?"  
  
"Because I came prepared," he said, taking a spray can from his backpack. "Bug-Off. Want some?" She snatched it away, grumbling to herself. She hit the nozzle and coated her arms and legs with it. "How about you, Clark?" she asked, holding the can out to him.  
  
"Oh, that's okay," he said, smiling at her. "They don't really bother me. I guess I've just got thick skin."  
  
"Now," Mr. Dellen said loudly, holding up another plant. "Can anyone tell me what this plant's name is? Anyone?"  
  
"Uh," a girl in the back started, her hand half-going up.  
  
"Miss Sanderson," Mr. Dellen said authoritatively, "do you have something to say?" The girl's eyes went wide and she blushed as everyone turned around to look at her. She had a quiet looking face with long brown hair. Her hands fell back to her side and she shifted her wait, staring at everyone. "Miss Sanderson?" he asked again.  
  
She mumbled something so quietly that even Clark had a hard time understanding her. "Could you please repeat that?" Mr. Dellen asked her forcefully.  
  
"I." she stumbled, "I think that's Poison Oak." Pete bit off a laugh as the entire class stared back at Mr. Dellen. His face looked a little sickly as he studied the plant in his hand.  
  
"Yes," he said quietly, "I think you're right." He dropped the plant and held his arm out rigidly, his face carefully set. "That's enough with identification," he said slowly, staring over their heads. "Why don't you all just start with your hike? Remember to stay on the path and make sure no one gets lost. I'll catch up with you later. As soon as I find a bit of water to wash this off." He gestured them off as he started down the opposite trail, back to a ranger station they had passed a short while ago.  
  
"Not bad, Sarah," Pete congratulated her. She smiled shyly at him, glanced at Clark, and then just as swiftly, glanced away. "That was priceless, really."  
  
"Did you see the look on his face?" Chloe asked them. "I wish I'd had my camera. That little shot would have definitely made its way into the yearbook. You should've used yours Pete," she laughed.  
  
Pete and Clark both blanched and looked at each other quickly. "My camera," Pete forced a laugh, "right that would have been great." Chloe caught the look and stared at them.  
  
"Yes," she said slowly, "your camera. The camera I asked you to bring so you could take some pictures for the Torch. The camera you're supposed to have with you." Pete grinned nervously, his eyes desperate. "You do have it with you, don't you?" Chloe asked him dangerously.  
  
"Sorry, Chloe," Clark said stepping in. "Pete lent it to my mom, and I was supposed to give it back, but I guess we both forgot about it," he apologized.  
  
"Well that's great!" she said, throwing her arms up. "I wanted to do a write up about experiencing the wild in Smallville and all I'm going to have to show for it are a few bug bites."  
  
"I think I saw Whitney with a camera," Sarah spoke up quietly. Everyone turned to look at her again, surprised. They hadn't even realized she was still there. "I. think he's up at the front," she forced out, slightly red in the face.  
  
"Well, thanks," Chloe told her. "Sarah saves the day again, huh?" Sarah gave her a tiny smile in return. Chloe then latched onto Pete's arm and started to tug him up the path. "We can borrow Whitney's camera then. C'mon Mr. Photographer," she said acidly as she pulled him behind her. Clark laughed and started to hike up the trail with them. He looked back briefly to see Sarah still standing there. When she saw him looking, she stiffened up a little.  
  
"C'mon," he motioned with his head, "you're gonna get left behind." The other students were already much farther down the path.  
  
"Uhh. right," she said quietly and started to walk beside him, keeping her head down.  
  
"I don't think we've ever talked much, have we?" Clark asked her, trying to remember the last time he'd spoken with her. He knew that Pete was friends with her, but Clark had never really gotten to know her. Sarah had always been so quiet, hardly speaking at all some days.  
  
"Not really," she said, her voice strangely excited and hurried, almost skipping over her words. "I've had a few classes with Pete before, but never with you, I mean, a class with you," she stumbled.  
  
He laughed good-naturedly and she smiled broader this time. "Do you like biology much?" Clark asked her. "I can't really seem to get it. I pick up math and science like that, but when it gets to plants and stuff..."  
  
"I like it a little," she told him. "I'm good in it, but it's not what." she laughed nervously and he looked at her, waiting. "Well, it's not what I really want to do," she said finally.  
  
"What's that?" he asked her, intrigued. This was the most he'd ever heard her speak to anyone. He looked at her closely; it was probably also the first time he'd seen her smile so much. She was really quite pretty when she did, he noticed absently.  
  
Sarah looked up and down the path, playing like it was a big secret. Then she leaned in close to him and whispered, "Psychology," to him.  
  
"That's great," he said, smiling at her. "I'm sure you'll be great in it."  
  
"Are you sure?" she asked. "My dad, well my parents, they say that it's really hard and wouldn't suit me."  
  
"Well, you can't just give up then," he told her. "If it's your dream, you should go after it. If you put your mind to it, I'm sure it'll happen someday."  
  
"You think so?" she said, smiling at him.  
  
"Of course." They walked on for a moment, following the rest of the class.  
  
"You know, Clark," she started to say, "if you're having a hard time in biology, I could always-" when all of a sudden everything spun in Clark's eyes. There was a sudden, piercing shriek in his ears that was almost painful, drowning out the rest of her words. Clark felt that familiar lurch in his stomach and pitched forwards, falling to his knees. "Clark!" she yelled, rushing to his side. "What's wrong? Are you alright?"  
  
"I'm fine," he muttered through clenched teeth. It was the meteor rocks, he realized, a fairly large concentration by the feel of it. Then suddenly, the shrieking sound vanished, leaving behind a dull ringing in his ears. The worst of the radiation seemed to be gone too; he could feel his head starting to clear. But if he'd wandered close to the meteor rocks, how could the effects just peak and die out like that, he wondered. He glanced around quickly, but to his surprise, he couldn't see anything green around them except the plants. He looked up at her and forced a grin. "Watch that first step," he tried to laugh it off. Sarah looked down worriedly at him, not amused.  
  
"Are you sure you're alright?" she asked again.  
  
"I think so," he said, still trying to figure out what had happened. Had something else caused the reaction? "Sure, I'm fine," he tried to assure her, still glancing around. "Let's just walk a little further, okay?"  
  
She nodded immediately and then hesitated. Almost fearfully, she took his arm and guided him a little farther down the path. Her hands were sweaty and warm, but Clark hardly noticed, still searching the brush for some sign of the meteor rocks. "Are you positive you're fine?" she asked him. "Maybe you got overheated, or dehydrated, or something. Do you need something to drink; I have a canteen." she offered quickly.  
  
"No, it's not that," he told her. "I just stumbled, that's all."  
  
"Oh, okay," she said, but her face was doubtful. He glanced down at her hand on his arm, and she snatched it away quickly.  
  
"It's alright." he started to tell her, when another voice called out to them from up ahead.  
  
"So there you are," Lana Lang smiled down at Clark. "Chloe's been asking around for you, Clark. Something about how if you got lost, she'll never forgive the school board for it. Hi, Sarah," she said sweetly.  
  
"Lana," Clark said brightening up. "Right, sorry about that. I just tripped and Sarah here was helping me up."  
  
"Oh, are you alright?" Lana asked quickly, and Clark shook his head.  
  
"Just a little dirtier, that's all," he said, brushing off his jeans. He walked up to her and then he remembered Sarah and turned around quickly. "Sorry, I've got to go. Pete and Chloe are the sort that need constant supervision, you know?" Sarah gave him a somewhat stiff smile and nodded mechanically.  
  
"Yeah, okay," she mumbled to them.  
  
"C'mon, walk with us," Lana offered her. "I'm going to need help to get this big lump up the path," she said playfully, nodding her head at Clark. He laughed and looked away, grinning. Sarah's smile started to twitch at the corners, as she watched them.  
  
"No, that's alright," she said between her smile. "I'm. just going to. look around for a bit. Collect some. plants," she said haltingly. "I'll catch up with you later."  
  
"Are you sure?" Clark asked this time. "We don't want you to get left behind."  
  
"No, I know my way around the woods," Sarah remarked. "I'll be fine."  
  
Lana frowned, but finally she shrugged. "Okay, I guess." She and Clark both started down the path, glancing back at Sarah. She waved them on until they disappeared around a bend in the track, then her hand fell down to her side along with her smile.  
  
"Yeah, I'll be fine," she muttered to herself, "just me and my plants, right." She sighed heavily, and then suddenly started to pace up and down the path. "Stupid, stupid," she berated herself savagely. "He was standing right there and all you could say was, 'Oh, I've never been with you, I mean a class.' pathetic!" She stomped down on the path in frustration, and then just as rapidly, she switched gears and composed herself. "Well at least he was here, with you," she reasoned. "That was good. great actually. He was here, really here with me. Until Miss 'I'm so popular that having the quarterback as my boyfriend isn't good enough,' Lana Lang," her anger coming back. "Oooohhh," she raged and started to stomp again on the ground. Suddenly there was a loud crack from underneath her feet and she froze, her eyes wide open. For a second, almost like in a cartoon, nothing happened and then the earth disappeared underneath her feet and she fell into blackness. There was a brief moment of weightlessness and then a jarring impact that brought stars to her eyes.  
  
"Owww.," she moaned, lying still where she'd landed. She tried to sit up, but all her body did was twitch with pain. "Owww.," she said again, wincing. Slowly, inch by painful inch, she managed to work her way into a sitting position. She stared around her, realizing that she'd fallen into a cave of some kind. Everything around her lay in darkness, it was impossible to see any farther than the tiny pool of light she lay in. Climbing to her feet, she looked up through the hole in the ceiling, too far away for her to reach. "Help!" she called out. "Help! Anybody! Can anybody here me?" There was no reply.  
  
What if everyone's too far down the path; the thought chilled her. She could be trapped in here. She'd starve. "HELP!" she screamed at the top of her lungs. "CLARK! ANYBODY!" Tears started to roll down her cheeks as she stared upwards in desperation. "Please."  
  
Suddenly, from all around her, a bright green glow started to pierce the darkness. But it was uneven, it flickered and some brighter patches of light seemed to float around the green glow. Terrified, Sarah backed away from the glow, looking up at the hole in the ceiling frantically. A green lighting bolt arced past her, not a foot from her arm, then another and another, coming closer and closer. She screamed and the sound seemed to echo back at her, magnified horribly like the cave was a giant stereo. Sarah clamped her hands to her ears, but the noise beat through them, almost deafening her. Then with a loud explosion, the scream ceased as green dust and tiny crystals sprayed her from every direction. She coughed, hacking as they got into her lungs, choking her. Hacking on the floor, she stared up once more at the hole in the ceiling, and then almost gratefully, she passed out. Just as the light started to fade however, she thought she could hear a voice call down to her, and then there was nothing. 


	2. Ch2

Chapter 2  
  
"To put it plainly, Mrs. Sanderson," the doctor told her, "your daughter is very lucky to be alive. If two of her classmates hadn't been close enough to hear her voice, they might not have found her in time. Those caves underneath the woods go on for miles and they aren't very well mapped. Experts get lost in there; I hate to think of Sarah's chances." He smiled absently at Sarah, sitting on the edge of an examination table, wrapped up in a blanket. She stared at him; too weak to even manage a grin. The entire ordeal was still a blur in her mind; she remembered waking up briefly in an ambulance, then Clark was pulling her out of the cave. No that wasn't right, she thought tiredly. Clark, then the ambulance, and then the hospital. She remembered the nurses working on her, trying to clean out the dust blocking her lungs. Then the doctor had taken a look at her. Clark had pulled her out then, no, that was wrong she reminded herself. He'd pulled her out before, why couldn't she get it straight in her mind? He'd pulled her out, then.  
  
"He winced when he grabbed me," she mumbled to herself. Immediately she started to cough severely, her throat burning from the irritation.  
  
"What's that, Sarah? Speak up, are you alright?" her mother asked quickly, staring at her. She was a somewhat plump woman with lank brown hair. Her mascara was a black smear down the corners of her eyes. "Oh, is she going to be alright?" she wailed aloud, reaching to hug Sarah, then thinking better of it and simply holding her own arms tightly.  
  
"She'll be fine," the doctor promised her. "She had a bit of dust and dirt in her throat, probably from the fall. Those caves are rich with a kind of crystal that shatters easily, I'm afraid. She breathed in some of those fragments is all, that's what has her throat so irritated."  
  
"Can't you get them out?" her mother asked.  
  
"Oh, they're not worth the trouble, Mrs. Sanderson," the doctor assured her. "They're completely benign in nature, and they won't damage her throat severely. She might be a little hoarse for a few days, but that'll be it. In the meantime, I'd keep her on soups and other liquids for at least a few days, and she'll be fine."  
  
"Can I go now?" Sarah asked dully, wrapping the blanket tighter around her. Her throat still burned when she talked, but it was a little better now. If she could just get warmer though, she thought, shivering.  
  
"Yes," her mother agreed, "I'd really like to get her home, her father's so worried about her."  
  
The doctor sighed and glanced at his chart quickly. "I'd really like for you to stay another day," he said slowly. "You're running a bit of temperature and some of your vitals are still a little odd, but that's probably just the shock fading off. Just for observation, you understand."  
  
"Please," Sarah pleaded, "I'll be alright. I just really want to go home now." The doctor glanced up from his chart, shaking his head, and Sarah thought he'd disagree. But then, suddenly he seemed to shiver a little, and he blinked his eyes rapidly, as if he was trying to clear them. Then in one smooth movement, he stopped switched from shaking his head to nodding along with her. He smiled down eagerly at her, his eyes bright, if a little unfocused.  
  
"Of course you can go home," he said to her, making her mother's head come up immediately. "What I said earlier, that was just the nurses' concern you know. I didn't agree with them at all," he told her.  
  
"So she can home?" her mother asked eagerly. The doctor nodded amiable and she threw her arms around Sarah. Wrapped up in her blanket, Sarah couldn't return it, even if she wanted to. She was too busy noticing how quickly the doctor had changed his mind. When her mother let go of her, she snaked her arm out from under the blanket and rubbed her throat lightly. It felt strangely warm to the touch.  
  
  
  
Martha Kent heard the front door swing open behind her as she was mopping up in the kitchen. "Hi, Clark," she called over her shoulder. "You're a little late today, aren't you? How did the hike go?" she asked, turning around when she started, seeing that Clark wasn't alone. Lana stood beside him, both of them still carrying their backpacks from the hike this afternoon. "Oh hi, Lana," she said quickly. "I didn't see you there."  
  
"Hello," she said quietly. Martha frowned at her, noticing how pale she seemed. Clark looked worried as well, she realized.  
  
"What's wrong?" she asked quickly. "You two look like you almost had an accident driving over here."  
  
"Not us, Sarah Sanderson, Clark told her quickly. "She was walking behind us in the woods when she fell into a cave."  
  
"Oh my god," Martha said. "Is she alright?"  
  
"She's fine," Lana said. "We managed to get a rope and pull her out. She's at the hospital now."  
  
"Thank heavens." Martha frowned again, thinking back for a moment. "Isn't her father Bill Sanderson, the lawyer?" she asked. Lana nodded. "I thought I remembered her. She's such a nice girl, so quiet though. We used to baby-sit her, you know," she remarked.  
  
"What?" Clark asked, surprised. He'd never heard that before.  
  
"Oh, you probably wouldn't remember," his mother said. "You both were only about four at the time. They used to have a home not far down the rode. Then her father's practice picked up and he moved them into a bigger house at the other end of town."  
  
"Huh," Clark remarked. "I can't remember that at all."  
  
"Well you were both little," she shrugged. "I'll have to call her mother," she decided. "Make sure she's alright."  
  
"Well, I've got to be going," Lana said. "Nell wants me to clean up around the house today, and I've still got the invoices from the Talon to go over."  
  
"If you need any help with them, you can always come over here," Clark offered her.  
  
"Thanks," she smiled. "But trust me, if I did bring them over, you'd hate me after an hour."  
  
"Never happen," he said. She smiled a little broader at him, and then turned to go.  
  
"See you tomorrow, Clark, Mrs. Kent," she called back over her shoulder. Clark waved her goodbye from the door as she climbed into her car and pulled away. When he turned around again, his mother was looking at him with a tiny, knowing grin.  
  
"What?" he asked her.  
  
"Oh, nothing," she remarked, going back to her mopping. He watched her for a moment, his face troubled.  
  
"There's something else I wanted to tell you," he spoke up quietly. "Where's Dad?"  
  
"He had to pick up some parts for the tractor uptown, why?"  
  
"It's about Sarah," he said. "What Lana didn't tell you is that when I pulled her out of the cave, she was covered in green dust."  
  
"The meteor rocks?" He nodded. Martha put her mop aside and sat down in a chair. "Well, did she seem alright when you pulled her out?"  
  
"She was unconscious," Clark shrugged. "I couldn't really tell."  
  
Martha shook her head slowly. "I hope nothing happens to her," she muttered.  
  
"Me too. So many other people have gotten hurt because of them. Or because of someone changed by them. The last thing we need someone else popping up with new powers."  
  
"Sarah?" her mother called through her door. Reluctantly, Sarah peeked her head out from underneath her covers. It was only 4:30 she saw with irritation. As soon as they'd gotten home from the hospital, she'd been hustled upstairs by her mother with a bowl of chicken soup and strict orders to go right to bed. As much being sent to bed in the middle of the afternoon would have normally upset her, now she was almost grateful for it. Her entire body felt like one big bruise, and her throat kept burning any time she so much as whispered. Sleep would have been just the thing, but she just couldn't manage it for some reason.  
  
"What is it?" she rasped through the door. She rubbed her throat irritably, feeling the itch burn its way back up her neck.  
  
"You're friend, Chloe's here," her mother called up to her.  
  
"My friend?" she grumbled to herself, but opened her door anyways. Chloe was standing at the foot of the landing with her mother. When she saw her, Chloe smiled at her brightly and started up the landing.  
  
"Sarah, I was so glad when I heard you were okay," she told her, moving past her into her room. Sarah frowned as Chloe plopped herself down on the bed, then shut the door behind her and climbed back into it, trying to pull the covers up to her chin. Chloe was sitting on part of them though, and so they only came up to her waist. She gave them a few tugs to see if Chloe would notice, but she was too busy pulling notebooks from her backpack. "So how are you feeling?" she asked.  
  
"My throat's a little sore," Sarah rasped. "Other than that, I'm okay, I guess."  
  
"That's great," Chloe said. She glanced down at her notebook and then held it up for Sarah to see. "I hope you don't mind, but I wanted to do an article about the accident in the school paper. Is that alright?"  
  
"Fine," she muttered, rubbing her throat again. "I can't talk long though," she muttered. "My throat."  
  
"Oh, what happened to it?" Chloe asked, starting to take notes.  
  
"It's nothing," Sarah protested. "I just got a bit of dust in it, that's all."  
  
"Well that good. Now," Chloe said, looking intently. "Do you remember what happened when you fell?" Sarah hesitated and glanced away from her. "It's alright, you can tell me."  
  
"You're probably going to think I'm nuts," Sarah muttered.  
  
"If you'd seen half of what I've seen this past year," Chloe laughed, "you wouldn't think so. You're going to have to come up with some pretty outlandish to shock me here."  
  
"Okay," she said. "When I first fell in it was all dark, I couldn't see anything. Then there were these green-" Her door opened suddenly, making both of the girls jump. Sarah's father walked in without knocking, looking particularly irritated. He had a stiff, rectangular face, severe looking on good days, harsh on others. Instantly, Sarah could tell that this would be one of the others.  
  
"I thought you had more sense than this, Sarah," her father sighed, looking pointedly at Chloe. "I've told you before about talking to the media."  
  
"The media?" Chloe laughed.  
  
"Daddy!" Sarah yelled, her voice scratching its way out. "I had the door closed. This is my room!"  
  
"It's my house," he reminded her. "And yes, Miss Sullivan, I do consider you 'the media'."  
  
"But it's just for the Torch," she said, holding up her notebook.  
  
"And how many other newspapers have you had articles printed in? I know you're going to be working for the Planet this summer." He glanced at his daughter and rubbed his forehead. "Sarah, we don't need any stories about your accident until I decide what we're going to do about it."  
  
"What we're going to do about it?" she repeated, incredulous. "What do you mean?"  
  
"I mean, whether we intend to sue-" he stopped short, glancing back at Chloe. "We'll discuss this another time. Now tell your friend to go."  
  
"But Dad."  
  
"No buts, Sarah," he yelled at her.  
  
"But."  
  
"Listen, Sarah," he started, "when I tell you to do something, I expect you to do it. I'm only watching out for your best interests after all. What would you or your mother do without me here to take care of you? You could have been killed on this trip, this unsupervised hike over ground that turns out not to be stable. What would have happened if you-"  
  
"Dad," Sarah yelled finally, "just be quiet!" And like that, his mouth snapped shut like a trap.  
  
It would hard to tell who was the more surprised, Sarah or Chloe. Chloe stared at the now mute Mr. Sanderson. Her notebook fell out of her hands, but she didn't notice. Sarah sat in shock, looking at her father. He was the least disturbed of any of them. His mouth was shut, but it was smiling as he glanced between the two of them. "Daddy?" Sarah's voice wheezed out. He looked at her brightly, but didn't say anything. "Daddy, are you alright?" He smiled and said nothing. "Please, Daddy, answer me," she pleaded.  
  
"Why I'm fine," he said suddenly, making them both jump. "Is there anything else you need, dear?" he asked, concerned. He seemed fine now, better than fine in fact. He smiled down at them happily.  
  
"No, everything's okay," she said slowly, her mind racing suddenly. The same thing had happened to the doctor in the hospital she remembered.  
  
"I can go if you want me to, Mr. Sanderson," Chloe spoke up. He turned to look at her, blinking suddenly like he was waking up from a dream.  
  
"Oh, right," he said, trying to focus. "Yes, that would probably be best," he told her, his voice gaining back some of its gruffness. "It's nothing personal, of course, it's just that I'd really like to decide what our stance is going to be on this incident before I talk to any sort of newspaper."  
  
"I think she should stay," Sarah said firmly, watching her father's reaction carefully.  
  
"Well if you say so," he agreed happily, his face breaking into a smile again. "I'll be downstairs going over some documents from work. Or better yet," he thought, "why don't I cook you up some of those cookies you like so much, Sarah. How would that be?"  
  
"Dad, you don't know how to cook," she reminded him.  
  
"I'll learn then," he shrugged. "Anything to make you feel better, honey." He turned around and started towards the door. One more test, Sarah thought. One more test.  
  
"Dad," she said, trying to make her voice sound as sweet as possible. "Could I borrow the car tomorrow?"  
  
"You can have it, sweetheart," he corrected her, pulling out a set of keys. "I mean, it's high time you got your own, don't you think?"  
  
"No, not that one," she said, seeing the keys he was holding. "I want the good one, the Mercedes." Chloe's eyes bugged out when she heard this. Her father smiled and pulled out another set of keys.  
  
"Whatever you want," he told her, tossing her the keys. She caught them automatically, her mind almost numb with a flurry of emotions. "Now, why don't I start out on those cookies, huh?" he said, leaving and shutting the door behind him. Chloe stared at the keys in Sarah's hands, her own almost shaking.  
  
"My God!" she breathed out finally. "Does your dad do 180's like that all the time or is today special?"  
  
"I think it's very special," Sarah whispered, staring at the keys.  
  
"No, I'm serious," Chloe said eagerly. "You have him wrapped around your little finger. God, I am so jealous," she laughed. "I bet you could make him do whatever you wanted."  
  
"Yeah, whatever," Sarah said, closing her hand around the keys. "Anything I wanted," she wondered out loud. Her eyes went wide at the possibilities. 


	3. Ch3

Chapter 3  
  
"Chloe," Clark called down through the hallway. She glanced up from her locker and smiled back, waving. He jogged up to her, dodging past groups of students as he did so. School had just let out and the hallways were packed.  
  
"Hey there," Chloe said as he got near. "I was just going down to the Torch, want to come with me?"  
  
"Sure, still working on that article about Sarah?" She nodded, adjusting the backpack straps on her shoulders. "So how was she doing?"  
  
"I don't know how to describe it," Chloe admitted, frowning slightly. "At first she seemed kind of nervous that I was there, and then her dad burst in and that just made everything worse. But then she just said a few words to him and he completely caved in."  
  
"He didn't want you to do the story?" he asked, puzzled.  
  
"Ehh, he's a lawyer," she shrugged if off. "You'd think a lawyer would be able to argue better," Chloe wondered. "Anyway, after he backed off, Sarah was kind of. I don't know, different. Kind of distracted, you know?"  
  
"Pete said she wasn't in class today."  
  
"Maybe she's still not feeling better," Chloe said. She stopped and turned to Clark. "I mean, after all, she did have a pretty bad fall. That could shake anybody up." He started to answer when he suddenly noticed someone running down the hall behind her. Clark yanked Chloe aside as a burly looking boy dashed past her, his hands waving wildly in the air. Everyone stopped and stared at him, primarily because he was only wearing his boxers. "Was that Alex Rohmen?" Chloe asked, astonished.  
  
"What does he think he's doing?" Clark echoed.  
  
"I'd say he's running around in his underwear," someone observed dryly from behind them. They turned around and received their second shock of the afternoon. "I wonder who put that idea into his head? Not that it matters, he was always a jerk to everyone," the girl remarked. She was medium height, with long brown hair that looked like it had been recently permed. She wore a tight fitting t-shirt that left a good inch of skin on her belly visible. Her jeans were tight and looked right off the rack of Fordmans. Clark stared at her for a moment, trying to place her face, then she smiled at him and something clicked in his mind.  
  
"Sarah?" he gaped.  
  
"Clark," she smiled at him, toying with the belt straps on her jeans.  
  
"Wow," Chloe said. "You look. different," she stammered.  
  
"I feel different," she said. "I don't know, empowered or something. And I was tired of my old look. Decided to try out a new one." She leaned over and gestured at her clothing. "Like what you see?" she asked them, her eyes on Clark.  
  
"Uhh.," he hesitated, glancing at Chloe and trying to think of an answer that wouldn't get him in trouble. "It looks. good," he said finally. He instantly regretted it as Sarah frowned at him.  
  
"Very trendy," Chloe told her. "Stylish." Sarah ignored her, still looking at Clark.  
  
"Just 'good'?" she asked him. She leaned in close to him, making Chloe frown a bit at how close she was to him. "Don't you like it, Clark?" she asked him, her face intent.  
  
Clark opened his mouth to disagree, when suddenly he found himself saying, "Of course I love it. It looks great on you." Chloe seemed to choke on something beside them, but he didn't notice. All that mattered to him was that Sarah was smiling, that she was happy. Seeing her smile made him happy, he thought. Of course it did; she was after all, one of the best girls in that he knew, the best now that he thought about it. She was the pinnacle of-  
  
"Excuse us for a minute," Chloe said, yanking Clark away by his arm. He blinked suddenly, his vision blacking out for a second. He rubbed his temples lightly, trying to clear his mind. "Could you wipe the drool of your chin, Clark?" Chloe hissed at him. "Just what were you doing right there?"  
  
"What are you talking about?" he asked her irritably. For some reason he had a major headache all of a sudden. It felt like it was pounding away at his skull with a jack-hammer.  
  
"What am I talking about?" she repeated. "You were practically fawning over her for a second back there." She gestured at Sarah, who stood there, watching them stonily.  
  
"What?" he tried to respond. "I was just." he trailed off as he realized that he couldn't remember. "What was I doing?" he asked again.  
  
"Chloe," Sarah spoke up, "I'd really like to talk to Clark alone for a while. Why don't you just go away?" she said off-hand. Chloe froze up for a moment, and then slowly turned around to face her.  
  
"Excuse me?" she asked, her voice dangerous. "What did you just say?" Sarah raised her eyebrows in astonishment for a second, and then looked nervously at her.  
  
"Go away," she said again. "Somewhere, anywhere, I don't care."  
  
"If you think I'm going anywhere," Chloe snapped, "you've got another thing coming." She stepped up to Sarah, making the other girl scramble back frantically. "Just what do you think you're doing? We're trying to be nice to you and all of a sudden you're telling me to run off? I don't think so. What is with you today? I mean, aren't you a little late for school now?" she demanded.  
  
"Maybe I had better things to do," Sarah snapped back.  
  
"Yeah, well," Chloe shrugged, "maybe we do too." She grabbed Clark's arm and stormed off, tugging him behind her. Although she was small for her age, Chloe could move surprisingly quickly when she wanted to, and now she definitely wanted to. Tripping slightly, Clark glanced back at Sarah as Chloe pulled him, muttering savagely under her breath. Sarah stood rooted in place, watching them go in shock.  
  
A few other students watched as well, no any less surprised. Lana slowly worked her way through a crowd of people over to Sarah, doing a double take as she saw her new outfit. "What was all that about?" she asked, glancing back down the hallway. Sarah rolled her eyes and gave Lana a withering look.  
  
"Perfect. Just what I needed," she grumbled. Without another word she turned around and stalked away, other students making way for her. Lana stared after her, astonished.  
  
"I can't believe her!" Chloe almost screamed. She flung the door to the Torch office open so hard it hit the sidewall and rebounded in Clark's face. He managed to stop it before the frame smashed into his nose, shutting it quickly behind him. She went on, stomping around her desk furiously, oblivious to anything else. "Did you hear her? She told me to run off, like I was some five year old. I can't believe that!  
  
"Chloe, calm down," he urged her. She waved him away, still fuming.  
  
"You be calm!" she snapped. "You weren't the one who was told to shove off." Her eyes narrowed and she glared at him. "No," she said, coming closer to him, "you were the one hanging off her every word! You didn't even try and defend me! I mean," she finished huffily, turning away, "don't you care about me anymore?"  
  
"Chloe, that's enough," he told her finally. He took hold of her shoulders and gently, but firmly, turned her around to face him. She put her head down, refusing to look at him. "You're my best friend and more," he told her, lifting her chin up with one finger. "You mean more than the world to me. If I didn't say anything, it's because I don't remember anything happening. The last thing I remember is Sarah standing in the hallway, and then all of a sudden you two are shouting at each other and I've got a big headache. Alright?" he asked her. She tried to hold up her glare, but finally she shook her head, smiling at him.  
  
"Alright," she said. "You're forgiven this time. But sometimes a girl likes a knight in shining armor, remember that."  
  
"And whatever happened to empowerment?" he asked, raising one eyebrow at her.  
  
"Sometimes, Clark," she laughed. "Sometimes."  
  
"I'm not interrupting anything, am I?" Pete asked, cracking the door open. Clark and Chloe took a step back from one another awkwardly, giving each other a shy smile. Pete grinned wickedly at them, and then assumed an innocent expression. "Of course, if you two were doing important Torch work, I could always come back later." he trailed off.  
  
"Get in here," Chloe remarked. He laughed and sauntered in, turning one of the office chairs backwards to sit down in.  
  
"So I guess we know what the lead story in the next Torch is going to be," he commented, leaning forwards against the back of the chair.  
  
"What: 'Semi-Nude Student Runs Wild Through Hall'?" Chloe asked. "Forget it, maybe a blurb or a corner column, but it's hardly front page material."  
  
"I'll say. Alex's not exactly the first person I would have wanted to run through school in their underwear."  
  
"And if you continue that thought any further," Chloe warned him, "we'll just see what winds up on the front page of the next Torch."  
  
"What are you talking about? My past is an open book, totally clean."  
  
"Fifthgradedance," Clark coughed into his fist. Pete jumped and glared at him. Clark shrugged innocently, trying not to smile.  
  
"Okay, that was a long time ago," Pete remarked.  
  
"Yeah, but I still have the pictures," Chloe laughed.  
  
Pete glanced between the two of the nervously, leaning back in the chair. "So what are we going to run for the next issue?" he said, changing the subject quickly. Chloe smiled and swiveled around in her chair so she could access her computer. She brought up a file with a template for the front page on it.  
  
"I was thinking we'd lead with Sarah's little accident," she said, biting the name off when she came to it. "Then an update on the state of the Plant buyout, explain it to kids." her voice trailed off suddenly.  
  
"What?" Clark asked her.  
  
She shook herself and turned to both of them. "It's just, well, suddenly Sarah's acting all weird, right?" she asked them. "And we know that yesterday she was in this major accident." She started to pick up steam. "And Clark, you said that when you pulled her out, she was covered in green dust, and we all know what that means."  
  
"Hold on," he said. "You think just because she was in an accident and now she's acting a little differently, the meteor rocks are to blame?"  
  
"Clark, that's practically our school motto. I mean, what else have we been doing the past year?" Clark frowned, but he couldn't think of anything to say to dispute her.  
  
"Maybe it is the meteor rocks," Pete agreed, "but here's a question for you. Has she done anything yet?"  
  
"What are you talking about?"  
  
"Has she done anything yet, Chloe?" Pete asked her.  
  
"Discounting rudeness," Clark told her firmly  
  
"Well. no," Chloe said finally, "but something is definitely different about her."  
  
"Of course it is," Pete told her, "she was in a accident yesterday. She almost died. That has to shake things up for anyone a little bit. She's always been shy, maybe she saw her life flash before her eyes and regretted it, I don't know," he shrugged. "Point is, there's no real reason to go after her. Even if something did happen, it's not like she's hurt anyone yet."  
  
"Yet," she pointed out. "Yet."  
  
"If it makes you feel any better, why don't Pete and I go talk to her?" Clark offered her. Chloe frowned a little and started to say something, but he continued over her. "She might not even know what happened to her and maybe she'll feel more comfortable telling us about it then the Torch's editor."  
  
"I don't know," Chloe hesitated. "Maybe I should go with you?"  
  
"Just us two, Chloe," he insisted, "at least at first. Let's not try and have a repeat of back there in the hallway."  
  
"Fine," she said, exasperated. "You do that." Clark and Pete stood up and walked out the door, listening to her grumble behind them. "Just leave me here, I'll be fine. Go find her. She's probably off somewhere living it up with her new, freaky powers!" she yelled as they shut the door behind them.  
  
"Well this is certainly exciting," Sarah grumbled to herself, sitting alone in the old bleachers of the football field. She picked idly at a splinter in the wooden seats, watching the track team warm-up for practice. One of them, Frank Meldy, she recognized, started running towards the high jump, calling to his friends. He leapt agilely over the bar and his friends erupted into applause. "Yeah, whoo hoo," she mumbled under her breath. "You jump over a piece of wood and people love you. Me, I can make people do what I want, but still nothing goes right." She frowned, prying a splinter from the seat and turning it over in her fingers.  
  
"Maybe not 'people'," she corrected. "My voice works on guys, but apparently not girls, or just not nosy, arrogant little reporters. It'd be easy to take care of her then, maybe make her reveal all her darkest secrets in the next Torch, huh? Or make her carve her initials in every car in town?" She smiled. "Or strip down to your underwear and run through the school," she laughed, remembering Alex's face when she'd spoke to him this morning. He'd been more than happy to do it, almost eager. It had frightened her a little bit, how easy it had been; what she could do to people. But it had also been exciting, a deep, dark exciting she knew she shouldn't like, but did.  
  
"Well if I can't talk to her," Sarah reasoned, "maybe I'll just talk to her dad, or her friends. Make them believe something about her. Her dad could ground her," her eyes brightened, "or send her to military school! I bet she'd look good in fatigues."  
  
There was a sudden burst of laughter out on the field. She turned idly, still mulling the idea over in her mind. One of the smaller freshmen was lying on the high jump mat, the bar across him. Frank and his lackeys were all laughing and pointing at the boy, who was hurriedly trying to put the bar back into place. "You've gotta be taller than the bar to jump it," Frank yelled at him. Even from where she sat, Sarah could see the boy's face go red with humiliation.  
  
Sarah flicked the splinter away and got up slowly. Stepping down off the bleachers carefully, she made her way across the field, ignoring the different groups of students training around her. Her face seemed bored, disinterested, but she kept her eyes locked on Frank and the rest. One of his friends noticed her coming and elbowed him in the side. He eyed her bare stomach and started to grin. "Hi, boys," she said, eyeing him and his friends with a smile.  
  
"Something I can do for you?" he asked her, his eyes leering over her body. His friends chuckled, moving around her until she was encircled. She let them get a little closer, her eyes starting to smolder.  
  
"It's more what you all can do for me," she told them. On cue, they started to smile blankly at her, their eyes adoring and absolutely trusting. "Now I've heard that track stars like to be known for their stamina. So why don't you all just start running laps and don't let anything stop you. Keep going until sundown, or whenever you can't run anymore, whichever comes first." They stared at her blankly and she shooed them away. "What are you waiting for? Get going!" Almost as one, they snapped to attention and started jogging towards the track, oblivious to other students as they ran through different groups. They completely ignored the coaches' shouts as they tried to stop them. Sarah smiled as she watched some of the coaches try and catch up to them as Frank and his friends started their first lap. She glanced up at the sun, high in the sky, and sighed deliciously. "Just helping them get their practice," she remarked. The small freshman they had been hassling stared at her from the high jump, still holding the bar in his hands. She shrugged at him and started to walk off the field. Halfway there, she noticed someone else who looked like they needed a little help.  
  
A young man was standing alone by the end of the bleachers, looking out over the old practice fields. An old varsity jacket lay crumpled on the ground next to him. He was tall and athletic looking, with a shortly trimmed crop of blond hair. Though only a few years older than Sarah, his face gave the impression of being much older. His face was naturally handsome, but was now twisted into an almost perpetual look of despair by new worry lines and dark circles around his eyes.  
  
"Whitney," she said, sneaking up on him and pushing him lightly in the back. "I didn't expect to see you out here all alone like this. Did Lana loosen the leash or what?" He stared at her, kneading a football in his hands, looking vaguely puzzled.  
  
"I'm sorry," he said slowly, staring at her face. "Who are you?" She frowned at him and felt a sudden urge to send him jogging along with Frank.  
  
"Sarah, Sarah Sanderson?" she supplied. "I sat behind you in Pre-calc. Behind everybody, really; it was the last row."  
  
"Oh," he said, "right." He still didn't seem very convinced though, eyeing her clothing. "Umm. new look?"  
  
"New everything. I was just sitting there feeling sorry for myself when I saw you standing here doing pretty much the same thing. So I decided we might as well do it together. Wouldn't you like that?"  
  
"Yeah," he said, his face brightening up. She smiled at him, but then turned away a little, looking out over the field. For some reason, she didn't feel as good about this as she had with Frank and the rest.  
  
"So," she said, not wanting to see him staring blankly at her, "what was on your mind?"  
  
He shook himself a little, coming back to his senses. Blinking his eyes quickly, Whitney gazed out over the field, his face somber. "I was just thinking about all the time I spent out here practicing," he told her. "We had games back there," he nodded over his shoulder, "but it was out here that we really spent all our time."  
  
"The football team?"  
  
"Yeah, them and every other team I've ever been on. Pop Warner, middle school, even just me and my dad having our own pretend games," he said quietly. "He used to drive me up here on weekends when I was little, and we'd toss the ball back and forth. Then sometimes we'd make up our teams and play against each other, just the two of us with our own imaginary squad. We'd pretend to throw the ball to ourselves and he'd say that one of my teammates had tackled him. The score would be close, but I'd always win." His fingers were white around the football, clutching it desperately in his hands. She was surprised to see tears in his eyes. He noticed her looking and quickly dashed them away against his arm. "Sorry," he told her quickly, "I don't know why I told you that. Just forget it."  
  
"I'm sorry about your dad," she said quietly. "I didn't know him, but I'm sure he was great."  
  
Whitney looked up at her, his eyes red. "He was."  
  
Sarah stared at him for a moment, and then bit her lip fiercely, thinking. Finally, she reached out and took his head in her hands. He flinched back a little, but didn't try and remove them. "What are you doing?" he asked nervously.  
  
"Shhh." she whispered soothingly. At once he was quiet, staring at her and waiting. "Whitney," she asked, "what would you like more than anything in the world right now?"  
  
"I'd want my father back," he said immediately. Pain flashed across her face for a moment, and she shook her head.  
  
"I can't do that for you," she told him sadly, "but what about this? How would you like to forget about losing him for a little while? To just be happy?"  
  
"That sounds pretty good," he replied, smiling at her. He really looked much younger when he smiled, she thought to herself. She nodded and released him. He staggered briefly and then regained his footing, looking around like he didn't know exactly where he was. The football he'd be holding dropped to the grass and rolled away. He didn't seem to notice it fall. Sarah smiled at him, that excitement worming it's way up from her stomach again.  
  
"Now why don't we head into town and have some fun?" she asked him. 


	4. Ch4

Chapter 4  
  
That afternoon Sarah cut a wide swathe through Smallville. She marched down main street, doing her own version of window-shopping. She'd peer into the front of the stores until she found one with a male clerk or manager, and then she'd enter, strike up a conversation, and moments later, walk out with whatever her heart desired. It was cheap, literally and figuratively, but as Sarah reasoned out, she deserved it. Her father had never been one to spend any more money on her than he had needed to. His Mercedes, hers now, was just another example. And besides, she thought, it wasn't like it was stealing. They were giving it to her, practically throwing them at her, what was she supposed to do, turn it down?  
  
Keeping up behind her was Whitney, still happily under the thrall of his voice. Watching him, she started to understand how her powers affected men better. It wasn't that her voice forced them to do anything; it just made them so happy that they'd do almost anything to return the favor, to keep her happy. It was almost like a form of worship, she thought once, instantly feeling both shame and that same dark, excitement. That feeling was one that just wouldn't go away, not that she had decided she wanted it to. It was deep and awful, sending little shivers through her body every time she started talking. No one had ever told her about this, not her mother with her bashful, halting attempts to tell her about 'the changes of growing up' as she called it, or the teachers at school with their dry, no- nonsense way about it. No one had told her how heady it felt, how full. And now Sarah was starting to realize why.  
  
"So where to next?" she said slowly, glancing up and down the street. She bounced a bag of clothes on her hips, pursing her lips as she tried to decide. Whitney waited anxiously beside her, staring raptly at her face. Clothing bags were looped off his shoulders and arms making him look like a pack animal, but he hardly seemed to notice. The only thing he did seem to notice was her.  
  
"We can go back up the block some more," he said eagerly. "I think there were a few stores we missed."  
  
"Only because they didn't have anything I wanted," she replied.  
  
"What about my dad's store?"  
  
At that she frowned and shook her head. It might have been part of the process, but every time she 'spoke' to someone, they seemed to go stupid. "We already checked there," Sarah explained to him patiently. "Remember?" His eyes clouded, struggling to recall. "Your mom was minding the store and half the clerks were women. If we wanted anything, we'd have to buy it."  
  
Whitney brightened up and immediately dug his wallet out. "I have money!" he said triumphantly, thrusting his wallet out at her. "Here, take it."  
  
"No." Sarah backed up a little, glancing away from him. All at once the excitement had turned into a heavy weight in her belly. "I can't take your money."  
  
"But I want you to have it," he said, holding it out to her.  
  
"NO!" she yelled, forgetting they where they were. People glanced at the two curiously as they passed by. Sarah looked around nervously and then turned back to Whitney. He stood there dumbly with his hand still out stretched, looking vaguely puzzled and upset. "Put that away," she ordered him in a whisper. He did so immediately, breaking out into a grin once more. "Look, Whitney, I don't want anything from you," she said. "Do you understand me?"  
  
"Of course," he nodded. "But I really want to-"  
  
"That's fine," she interrupted, "but you need to just listen to me, alright? Just let me decide what you can give me."  
  
"Just say the word and it's yours," he told her breathlessly.  
  
"Isn't that a nice thing to say," she murmured to herself, but she didn't smile as she said it. She was still bothered about the money, that had really upset her and she didn't know just quite why. Whatever it was, she needed to fix it, and she thought she saw a way. "Tell me Whitney," she asked him slowly, "how would you like a brand new car?"  
  
He blinked rapidly trying to process this, his grin growing even wider, if it was possible. "I'd love one, yes! You would do that for me?" he asked as ingeniously as a child. She nodded, amused, and he threw his arms around her unexpectedly. "I love you," he exclaimed. Sarah stiffened up, more from the words than the hug. For a moment, she couldn't speak, and then finally she shook her head, pushing him away.  
  
"No, no, that's all wrong," she muttered to herself, backing up. Whitney looked shocked, still holding his arms out to her. "Don't say that again," she told him forcefully. His smile faded and he looked down like a scolded child. Looking at his expression, she softened slightly and reached over to tilt his head up with one finger. "I'm sorry about that. It's just; you're not the one I want to hear that from, okay? But no hard feelings." She dug into her pocket and fished out the keys to the Mercedes. Turning around, she tossed them over her shoulder and started to walk off.  
  
He caught the keys easily, staring at them as they lay in his hands. Then suddenly he looked up. "Wait, you forgot all the clothes," he yelled, waving the bags he carried in the air. Sarah kept walking, not looking back. Crestfallen, he stood there, staring after her pitifully. He was about to call out to her again, when suddenly he grimaced, his fingers going to his temples. He held them there for a moment, his eyes screwed tight in pain. Then slowly, like a man surfacing from some great depth, he opened them to stare around, confused. The bags slid off his arms unnoticed. "What?" he started, looking up and down the street. Finally he noticed the shopping bags at his feet. One of them had spilled open on the sidewalk, piling short jeans and lingerie on his shoes. Whitney gaped at them for a second and then jumped backwards as if they could bite. Two old women stared at him goggle-eyed through a shop window. He saw them and jumped again. Forcing a grin on his face, he pointed to the bags and said, "Oh no, they're not mine." They looked back, unconvinced. The grin on his face slipping badly, he stared panicky for a way out, but there was no such luck. Finally, throwing dignity to the winds, he took off running down the street. The women leaned over towards the glass and watched him disappear around the corner.  
  
Sarah hadn't gone far when she saw someone who made her forget completely about Whitney. She'd first noticed him leaving a shop fifty feet ahead of her. Lengthing her stride to catch up to him, she smiled eagerly. Even with his back to her, she could automatically tell who it was. After all, how many young, bald men were there in such a small town?  
  
As he bent to open the door to his car, a jaguar she quickly noticed. Had I really been so concerned about a Mercedes just a day ago, she wondered. I should have known to hold out for the better deal.  
  
"Lex Luthor," she said slowly, almost tasting them name. He turned slowly, eyeing her carefully. His eyes didn't pause at her stomach or chest, she noticed, but took her in completely and then fixed on her eyes.  
  
"Just Lex is fine," he told her, shifting a small bag in his hands. "You've got me at a bit of a loss, you know me, but I don't recall meeting you before."  
  
"You haven't," she laughed, "and even if you did, you probably wouldn't have remembered me. I've gone through some changes recently."  
  
Lex seemed to suddenly look through her then and then nodded to himself. All of a sudden his demeanor changed from open warmth to a cold hostility. It was so great that Sarah took a step back, startled. "I hear that's normal for girls your age," he said dryly, his eyes going to his car and then back to her. "I'm flattered by the attention, but frankly, you're a little young for me. Now if there's nothing I can do for you," he said, edging around her to the driver's side of his car.  
  
"Just wait a minute," Sarah snapped at him, and true to form, he froze where he was. She stared at him, so flustered and angry that she didn't know where to begin. "What was all that about?" she asked finally.  
  
"Oh I didn't mean any of that," he told her at once, shaking his head. "It's just. rich guy plus young girl equals lawsuit and sometimes jail time, you know? Of course I'd be glad to go through all that for you." he trailed off, looking at her.  
  
"Right," she said, shaking her head. "Well don't go breaking any laws just yet." Sarah leaned against his car, thinking to herself for a moment. "That's something I didn't think about," she murmured. "A little attention's fine, but if I keep someone older hanging around me at all times, somebody's going to get suspicious. If it's a guy that starts asking questions, that's nothing to worry about, but if it's not." She chewed her lip quietly, thinking.  
  
Lex's eyes started to focus and he shook himself slightly, waking up. He turned to his door, and then turned back and stared at her. "I'm sorry, must have dozed off on my feet. Where was I?"  
  
"Waiting until I'm done with you," she said offhand. At once he broke out in a grin again, staring at her adoringly. After a moment, she nodded to herself and pushed herself off the side of the Jaguar. "Okay, first things first: keys," she said simply, holding out her hand. Lex jumped to pull them out and drop in her hand. "Next," she smiled wickedly, "credit cards and cash." He emptied out his wallet almost as quickly as he had given up the keys. "That's it for now," she told him, opening the driver side door. "If I want a helicopter or my own private yacht in the near future, I'll be back."  
  
"Where are you going?" he asked her, his voice just as pitiful as Whitney's.  
  
"To take your advice, Lexie," she smiled. "I'm going to find someone more my own age. Someone I've wanted to say a few things to all my life." Tossing her head, she sank into the leather seats with a laugh and gunned the engine. The car lurched and then tore off, roaring down the usually quiet streets of Smallville. Lex stared after her sadly for a moment, and then he shook himself awake and reached for his car door. When he found nothing however, he jumped back, staring at the now vacant parking spot. Far down the street, he heard the Jag's horn receding into the distance. Looking up and down the street, he stared around, passing a hand over his bald head incredulously.  
  
"What the hell is going on here?" he wondered out loud. 


	5. Ch5

Chapter 5  
  
Chloe rubbed her eyes wearily, leaning back in her chair. She glanced around the interior of the Torch newsroom idly and then returned to staring at her computer screen. With all of the other students gone for the day, the room was deserted except for her small work station. It wasn't unusual for Chloe to spend four or five hours there after school, doing homework or putting together the next issue of the Torch. There were few other students who shared her drive to produce the best paper possible. Clark would occasionally stay with her to help, but only when the subject really interested him. Sometimes she despaired of ever making a real reporter out of him.  
  
"So let's see what you're hiding, Sarah," she muttered to herself, pulling up two files on her computer. One was a clipping from the Smallville Ledger about Sarah's accident, just a small blurb buried in the back sections. Just like he'd promised, Sarah's father hadn't given out much to the papers to work with. Chloe frowned and turned to the other file. It was a medical transcript she'd hacked out of the hospital's mainframe. Throughout the last year she'd gotten better and better at that sort of thing, something she was both proud and a little ashamed about. Anything to get a story, she reminded herself, isn't that what they say?  
  
The transcript was mostly indecipherable, full of medical jargon and doctor's notations. What she could decipher was that Sarah had been treated for some minor bruises from the fall and some minor irritants in her lungs and throat. "Irritants," she murmured, scrolling down further. "What do they mean by 'irritants'?" There was some further mention of dust and debris, but nothing concrete. "Uhhh," she fumed, "do they mean the meteor stones or not?" The phone at the other end of the office started to ring and Chloe got up to answer it, still thinking about the accident. Clark had mentioned that Sarah had been covered with green dust when he'd pulled her up, but there didn't seem to be any mention of that in the hospital's report. Maybe they're so used to it they don't even mention it, she wondered. It was a scary thought, that some people had gotten so used to the strange happenings in this town that they didn't even notice them anymore.  
  
"Smallville Torch," she said into the phone, "if the story's not there in thirty minutes, we'll print your next alien abduction half off."  
  
"Chloe?" a familiar voice asked nervously.  
  
"Mrs. Kent? How are you?"  
  
"I'm fine," she said quickly. "Is Clark there with you?"  
  
"Uh, no. I haven't seen him since school let out." Chloe started to wind the telephone cord around her fingers nervously. "He was going with Pete to talk to Sarah for me. You know, Sarah Sanderson? The girl who got in that accident?"  
  
"Yes, I called her mother today and she said she hasn't been in either. You said that he was going to talk with her?"  
  
That had better be all he's doing, Chloe thought quickly, but pushed it away. Despite the way she might tease him occasionally, she trusted Clark completely. If he's gone, there's a perfectly logical explanation for it. Yeah, she told herself cynically, just like there's a perfectly logical explanation for the way Sarah's dad gave her his car, or the way Clark was hanging off her every word this afternoon.  
  
"Okay," Chloe told her, "I'll call Pete and see if he knows what happened to Clark and then I'll call you back, alright?"  
  
"Would you? Thanks, Chloe," Mrs. Kent said, her voice overflowing with gratitude. "I'm sure he's just over at Pete's and forgot what time it was."  
  
"Yeah, probably," Chloe said, but didn't believe it somehow. Suddenly she had a very bad feeling about all of this; a tightness at the back of her skull that wouldn't go away. She hung up the phone and stared down at it for a moment before picking it up again. She punched in Pete's number robotically, chewing her lower lip and feeling that tightness start to reach around to her temples.  
  
"Hello," Pete's voice sounded groggy and slightly unfocused over the line. "Who is this?"  
  
"Pete, it's Chloe," she said quickly. "Is Clark there with you?"  
  
"Clark?" he asked, sounding confused and surprised. She could almost see him in her mind staring off into space dumbly. "No. I haven't seen Clark since our last class," he came back finally. "Is that all, Chloe? I'm sorry, but I've got a wicked headache tonight, could we talk again tomorrow?" he asked her.  
  
Forget about her temples, that tightness was pounding away behind her eyes now. "What are you talking about? You and Clark went off together to see Sarah, remember? I saw the two of you leave myself. What happened to him?"  
  
"Sarah?" Pete couldn't have sounded more confused.  
  
"Yes, Sarah!" Chloe practically screamed into the line. Getting her voice under control, she asked "Pete, what happened when you went to see Sarah? Think very carefully." There was dead silence on the other end for a minute and for a moment, she thought she'd lost him.  
  
"Yeah," he said slowly, "you did tell us to see her. I remember that."  
  
"What else?" she asked, trying not to push him too hard.  
  
"I remember going over to her house, but. she wasn't there." He paused again and she could almost hear him thinking hard over the phone. "But. when we were walking away, she drove right up next to us." Suddenly he burst out. "A Jaguar! She was driving a silver Jaguar, just like Lex's. It might have even been his, I mean, where would she get another car like that here?"  
  
"Forget about the car!" Chloe snapped. "What happened next."  
  
"Sorry. Well, she found us," he went on, "and Clark started to ask her how she was feeling, but then she just cut him off and started talking." He paused for a second. "I don't know how to explain it, but whatever she said, we did. She told Clark to get in the car and he did, no questions asked, didn't even pause to think about it. Then she told me to forget all about it and go home and." he stopped again and then finished in a whisper. "I did."  
  
Whatever she said, we did. "He went with her?" Chloe asked, horrified.  
  
"She told him too, just like she told me to forget. I couldn't remember any of this until you forced me to think about it," he tried to explain. "It's like it never even happened. I don't know what she did to us."  
  
"I think I know," she said quietly. "Pete, I want you to head over to the Kent's right now. I'll meet you there soon. First, I have to call Lex and see if he's missing a car."  
  
"Right, okay," he said numbly. She started to hang up, when he spoke up again. "What happened to Sarah, Chloe? How'd she do this to us?"  
  
Chloe looked over at the computer screen. Debris and dust in her throat. whatever she said, we did. her father's car. green dust all over her. "Do you remember that Rickman guy, the one who could change people's minds by touching them?"  
  
"Yeah," Pete said hesitantly.  
  
"Well, I think Sarah's gone and one-uped him, she doesn't need to touch people. She can get anyone to do what she wants just by talking to them." Pete was silent on the other end so she hurried on. "Just get over to the Clark's and tell his parents what you just told me. They probably won't believe you, but try to convince them." He agreed and hung up, leaving Chloe to root through the folders on her desk for Lex's cell phone number. She turned and the phone cord snagged around her legs, making her lean over on one foot while rummaging around for it. "Where is it?" she muttered, tossing aside old Torch articles and photos. The door opened behind her and she spun around quickly, her heart in her throat. She turned a little too quickly however, because the telephone cord caught on the edge of her chair, and since it was already wrapped around her knees, caused her to trip and fall flat on her face. Chloe groaned, glanced up, and then groaned again as she saw who it was.  
  
Lana Lang stood in the door, looking more than a little startled. "Are you alright?" she asked, concerned.  
  
"Peachy," Chloe muttered. "I trip and fall all the time in here, I love it." She kicked the phone away and got up, dusting herself off. She glanced strangely at Lana; it wasn't very often that she'd been in the Torch office, let alone this late at night. "What's the matter?"  
  
Lana opened her mouth wide and then closed it quickly with a snap. She reddened slightly, asking, "Well, I was just wondering if you could do some research for me?"  
  
"'Research'? As in. history project research?" Chloe asked her, amused.  
  
"Research as in- 'I think there's something definitely wrong with someone'- research."  
  
"Ah, spying," she said. "Why didn't you say so earlier?" Chloe spotted the elusive slip of paper with Lex's number out of the corner of her eye and snatched it up. "Here we are," she said to herself. "Sorry, I'd really like to help, Lana, but I'm already trying to." she stopped and turned around. "This wouldn't happen to be Sarah Sanderson, would it?" Lana gaped at her and nodded quickly.  
  
"How did you know?"  
  
"Call it a hunch," Chloe told her. "I'm already trying to figure out what happened to her. And why she decided to turn to the bitch side," she muttered. "What about you? Why the sudden interest?"  
  
"I got a call from Whitney a few hours ago," Lana explained. "He said that he'd just found himself standing on the street corner in town with bags of clothing all around him and no idea how he got there. The last thing he remembers is talking to Sarah at the school."  
  
"Talking with Sarah. Anything else?" Chloe asked.  
  
"I talked to a few of the store owners in town and they remembered seeing Whitney and Sarah walking in, but none of them seemed to remember them buying anything, or leaving for that matter. It was like they just blanked out or something." Lana frowned, thinking back, and then said quickly, "I don't know how much it would help, but Whitney also said he found a set of car keys in his pocket. They weren't his."  
  
"You don't say," she said dryly. The pieces were starting to come together in her mind. "Was it a Mercedes?"  
  
Lana's mouth fell open in surprise. "How'd you know?"  
  
"Long story," Chloe told her quickly. "I'll tell you on the way." Chloe pulled out her cell phone and started mashing in the numbers hurriedly. "I have to meet Pete at Clark's and I think you'd better come to."  
  
"Clark's? Why? What's the matter?" Lana asked her, falling in step behind her.  
  
"Long story," Chloe said again, bringing the phone up to her ear. There was a short ring and then Lex's voice came over the line. Cutting over his greeting, Chloe spoke quickly as she left the Torch office with Lana. "Lex, its Chloe. You didn't happen to lose a car today by any chance?"  
  
"So you're telling me that this girl, Sarah, can make anyone do what she wants just by talking to them?" Lex asked. He stared around the room in disbelief. "Does this sound a bit crazy to anyone else, or is it just me?"  
  
Pete sat up slowly from a chair in the corner. "I'd agree with you, Lex, but I was there. I saw it, heard it. There's something in her voice that makes you obey, you can't fight it." He turned to Chloe for support and she nodded.  
  
"It certainly goes along with what Whitney told me," Lana added. "I just can't believe it though, I mean, Sarah's not exactly the sort to command anyone."  
  
"Yes, she was always such a quiet girl," Martha said. "I can't imagine her doing something like shoplifting or stealing a car." Jonathon took her hand, but said nothing, staring at the floor intently. They were all cramped together in the Kent's living room, having listened to Chloe and Pete in stunned shock. Chloe was personally surprised how swiftly the Kent's had accepted her theory on Sarah's new abilities. She thought it would have taken both Lex's and Lana's stories to convince them, and even that had been doubtful. But after a moment's stunned silence, they had seemed to believe her.  
  
"Far be it for me to say this, but power can change people," Lex pointed out. Then he frowned and warned them quickly, "That still doesn't mean I buy this story though."  
  
"But it's the only one that makes sense," Pete pointed out. "Why else would you give your car to her?"  
  
"We don't know it was her, though, do we?" Lex snapped. "It could have been stolen, someone could have knocked me out from behind and that's why I don't recall anything." He gnawed on his knuckles, starting to pace the living room. "Yes, a mugging," he mused. "I was mugged, that has to be it." Lana frowned at him while Chloe rolled her eyebrows. "Jonathon," Lex said suddenly, "you're a rational man. You don't buy this story, do you?"  
  
Jonathon and Martha shared a quick, nervous look that set off alarm bells in the back of Chloe's mind. "Well, I would Lex," he said quietly, "buy you're forgetting that I've already seen this kind of thing before." Martha jumped a little in her seat, then tried to hide it by sitting back. Chloe stared at her, wondering to herself.  
  
"What do you mean?" Lex asked him  
  
"You're friend, Bob Rickman," he said quietly. Lex started to say something, but Jonathon waved it away. "I know, I know, you weren't friends," he admitted, "but the two of you certainly had a bit of history together didn't you? You must have known about his powers."  
  
"Rickman was a good negotiater," Lex remarked, "not just a good one, a great one, one of the best there ever was. I heard the stories people told about him, but if you expect me to believe that he could control people's minds." Lex's face would have been skeptical, if it weren't for the way his mouth kept cracking into a grin. "I'm sorry," he apologized, turning away, "this is getting a little bit too much for me."  
  
"What is?" Chloe asked, exasperated. "Just what's so hard to believe about all of this?"  
  
"I think it was that whole part about the girl getting super powers by accident," he told her dryly.  
  
"Really? Tell me Lex, how many unexplained things have happened at your mansion this year?" Chloe asked him seriously. He frowned at her, but didn't say anything. "How many strange things have happened across town? How many times have our lives been in danger?"  
  
"That doesn't prove anything," he told her a bit testily.  
  
"It proves that we can't explain away everything in town," Pete spoke up. "I'd love to tell you how this happened to Sarah, but I don't think anyone can. All I know is that it did happen, and now we have to do something about it." He looked up at the others and they nodded encouragingly. Lex was silent for a moment, and then he nodded as well. "So." Pete asked, "does anyone have any ideas?" There was dead silence in the room as everyone shuffled their feet and looked around nervously.  
  
"Well," Lana broke the silence, "do we know why Sarah took Clark?" Chloe's face darkened briefly but she didn't say anything.  
  
"No idea," Martha said quietly. "I've never heard Clark talk about her here. Have you?" she asked her husband. Jonathon shook his head, perplexed.  
  
"I barely remembered her until this afternoon. It's been years since I've talked to her father," he admitted.  
  
"Oh, her father!" Pete exclaimed suddenly, but before he could explain further, there was an electronic chirping from Lex's coat. He pulled out his cell phone and opened it, nodding to everyone as he took a few steps out of the room, speaking into it quietly. "Did anyone ask her parents' where she might have been going?" he continued. "Maybe she let something slip?"  
  
"No," Martha said, "that was the first place I tried. Her mother didn't know anything and her father." she frowned, choosing her words delicately, "he didn't seem very. aware. of what was going on."  
  
"'Aware'?" Lana asked.  
  
"It was strange; at first he knew she was gone then he kept getting confused and thinking that Sarah was right upstairs, but then he'd remember that she was missing again."  
  
"Sarah's work," Chloe snorted angrily. "I've seen her change her dad's mind before, I'm surprised she left him with any sense at all."  
  
"She'd do that to her own father?" Martha asked, aghast. Chloe nodded grimly and Martha paled, her hands going to her throat. "What'll happen to poor Clark," she moaned.  
  
"Poor Clark nothing," Lex remarked, coming back into the room. "That was from some friends," he said, putting his phone away, "I told them to track any activity on my credit cards and send it to me immediately. You'll be happy to know that someone just spent a small fortune in clothing and then checked into a very expensive suite in the Lakeside Palace."  
  
"Lakeside Palace." Jonathon said, "that's in."  
  
"Metropolis," Lex finished for him. "It's first class luxury all the way. If it is Sarah, she has expensive tastes."  
  
"What about Clark?" Martha asked fearfully.  
  
"They're calling the front desk to see who checked in. It'll take a little time." Martha sank back against Jonathon's shoulder, her face pale. "For what it's worth," Lex added, "I don't think she'd hurt him. From what it sounds, she doesn't have any grudge against him."  
  
"But what could she want him for?" Martha asked. "Why Clark?" 


	6. Ch6

Chapter 6  
  
"This is the life," Sarah exhaled slowly. She lay face down on the hot towels as one of the hotel's staff massaged her back. She giggled a little as he pressed his thumbs hard into the small of her back, his fingers touching her sides where she'd always been ticklish. Except for a few well placed towels, she was lying naked on the table, and didn't that add a bit to the excitement, she thought. A few feet away, she could hear Clark breathing deeply as he enjoyed the same treatment from another masseuse. She turned her head enough to watch him, still not believing that he was here with her. The extravagant room, the best suite in the hotel the manager had assured her, the champagne and caviar that he'd sent up, complementary of course, all of it paled beside him. Clark Kent; she sighed, staring at him. Clark Kent.  
  
"Enjoying yourself?" she asked him. He turned his head and smiled back her.  
  
"You have no idea. I can't believe how great this is," he said, closing his eyes. The masseuse, a pretty girl with long black hair, smiled at him and started kneading his shoulders more forcefully. Sarah's good mood started to fray as she watched her.  
  
"That's enough," she said to her curtly. She sat up quickly, making her masseuse jump back. She wrapped a towel around herself and stepped down off the table. He tried to offer her a helping hand, but she waved him off. "I'll take over from here," she said, a smile flickering across her lips. "Take off you," she snapped at the girl, "and you too," she added to her masseuse. His nodded, crestfallen, and turned to go. The girl gave Sarah a frozen sort of smile that spoke volumes and followed him out.  
  
"Alone at last," Sarah murmured. She put her hands were the girl's had been and started to knead his shoulders. "How does this feel? Better?" He nodded and sighed, stretching out on the table. Massaging his shoulders and back, Sarah was amazed how hard Clark's muscles were. "I could probably use a jackhammer on your back before you'd feel anything," she laughed.  
  
"Probably more than that," he murmured happily, closing his eyes.  
  
She leaned forward and started to massage his neck lightly. "Now aren't you glad I invited you out here, Clark?" she asked him.  
  
"Absolutely," he breathed.  
  
"Isn't it so much better here in Metropolis with me?"  
  
"Doesn't compare."  
  
"Here with me, instead of with that nosy, no-talent hack, Chloe? Or Miss 'Woe is me, I'm the tragic love interest' Lana?" she purred into his ear. Clark's eyes snapped open suddenly and Sarah instantly knew she'd down something wrong. He pushed himself up, frowning almost painfully, staring at her.  
  
"Chloe." he said, grimacing. "Lana..." He shook his head, one of his hands straying to his temples. "What. am I doing?" he asked, staring up at her.  
  
"No, no, it's alright," Sarah cooed to him, wrapping her arms around his head and trying to comfort him. "Everything's fine. you don't have to worry about them. You're happy here, with me," she said, emphasizing the last two words. After a moment, Clark's head drooped slightly and he let himself be pushed back down onto the table. He drowsed happily as she stroked his forehead, pushing a lock of his hair out of the way of his eyes. "It's been a hard time for you, hasn't it?" she murmured. "You're so committed to your friends, it's not so easy for you to forget about them. You're worried, I understand. You want to let them know you're okay." He smiled up at her and nodded.  
  
"Well, I think we can arrange that," she said quietly.  
  
"Any word yet?" Chloe asked Lex as he came back into the room. He folded up his cell phone and sat down wearily.  
  
"Yeah, but I don't know whether it's good or bad," he said quietly. He glanced over at Clark's parents who were huddled across the room, their heads close together. They looked deep in a worried conversation, most likely about Clark, Chloe guessed sadly.  
  
"The manager thinks I'm crazy and threatened to sue me if I kept calling," Lex told her. "He said no one like that has been there. But a woman at the front desk swears she saw him take a boy and girl matching their description up."  
  
"He doesn't remember them though," she murmured. "Makes sense; she probably talked him into covering for her." Lex nodded, glancing at the Kents. "Did she have anything else?"  
  
"No, but she's going to try and find out what room he's got them in. It'll take a little time."  
  
Chloe looked back at the Kents and winced. "I don't know how long they're going to last. It's gotta be rough on them." Lex glanced over at them again and nodded.  
  
"Anything?" Lana asked, walking over with Pete.  
  
"We may have someone who's seen them there," Lex shrugged. "It's something at least." He turned to Chloe. "Somebody better tell them," he muttered. She nodded reluctantly and headed over. Once she was gone, Lex put his back to her and started speaking quietly to Lana and Pete.  
  
"Alright, I didn't want her to hear this, but from what the girl was telling me, it didn't seem like Clark was trying to get away from Sarah. She said they looked like a couple. Now I've never heard Clark talk about this girl," he smiled dryly, his eyes flashing to Lana, "so I know he wasn't carrying a torch for her, and somehow I doubt it was love at first sight, so why is he still with her?"  
  
"You still don't buy Chloe's theory, do you?" Pete asked.  
  
"Yes and no," he said. "Look, people change other people's minds all the time by talking to them. Its called charisma, not telepathy or mind control. Sarah just might be very persuasive, maybe even hypnotic, but I doubt she's supernatural."  
  
Pete shifted his feet, staring at the floor. "I don't know," he said slowly.  
  
"I think it would take a lot more than charisma to keep Clark away this long," Lana said with force. "Whitney too," she added, almost as an afterthought.  
  
"Either way, we-," Lex started when the phone rang across the hall, interrupting him. Everyone jumped as it clanged noisily. Jonathon let go of his wife's hands and slowly rose. He walked over to it, seemed to prepare himself for the worst, and picked the receiver up.  
  
"Kents," he cracked through a dry voice. He listened quietly over the line for a moment, and then smiled and pulled the phone away. "It's the sheriff's, they think they have something," he told everyone, his face relieved.  
  
"Is there anything about Clark?" Martha asked quickly, but Jonathon was already listening again. He nodded into the receiver a few times, turning away from them.  
  
"Either way," Lex started again, looking back at Lana and Pete, "Clark might not want to leave right away. We might have to drag him away by force."  
  
"You're kidding me, right?" Lana demanded. "This is Clark we're talking about; the guy wouldn't hurt a fly."  
  
"And also the last guy in the world we'd expect to do anything like this," he pointed out. Lana frowned at him, but couldn't think of anything to say.  
  
"Lex," Jonathon called, "they want to speak to you about your car." He held out the phone and waved him over. Lex nodded and glanced back to Lana before joining him at the phone.  
  
"He's got a point," Pete said quietly. "If she tells him to fight back, he will."  
  
"Yeah," Lana agreed. "But its Clark, you know? I just can't imagine him doing anything to try and hurt us."  
  
"He might not have a choice," Pete said. Lana glared at him and he raised his hands quickly. "Hey, Clark's my best friend, I'm not looking forward to this anymore than you are. I just hope we can pull this off without hurting him." Lana nodded, looking at Chloe and Martha sitting together on the couch.  
  
"What about Sarah?" she asked him.  
  
He winced and glanced over at the couch. "I think all bets are off there. Maybe you haven't noticed the look Chloe gets in her eyes every time someone says her name. Not exactly a look," he went on, "it's more of a killer glint."  
  
"She's not the only one," Lana muttered.  
  
"Pete," Lex called from across the room, "can you come over here? They want you to give a statement." Pete nodded and headed over, taking the phone from Lex.  
  
Lana gazed around the room emptily for a moment and then wandered over to the fireplace. The Kents had a large mantle over it, which was almost covered completely with photographs. There were photos of Jonathon and Martha together, much younger than now, probably when they were still dating; pictures of other relatives; but it was the ones of Clark that caught her attention. She smiled at one that had to have been taken when was Clark was six, grinning and waving at the camera in his bathing-suit. There were others, Clark in the snow, working with his father, and smiling with his parents. She picked up one that was just of him, leaning against a fence-post and smiling self-consciously. Taking it back to her chair, she stared at it, her fingers pressed tight against its frame. She barely noticed Pete hang up the phone across the room and join Lex and Jonathon in the hallway, talking together amongst themselves. She barely noticed anything, staring at Clark's smiling face in the photo and wishing desperately that he was back here with her.  
  
Back in Metropolis, Sarah put down the phone and leaned back in her chair. "There, that ought to nip that little plan in the but," she said, satisfied. She smiled up at Clark, who was kneading her shoulders quietly. "Now," she said slowly, that excitement in her belly growing quickly, "what to do next?" 


	7. Ch7

Chapter 7  
  
Lana stared at the picture of Clark, tracing the edges wistfully with her fingers. She wondered idly when it had been taken, then guessed recently judging from its look. There were so many pictures on the mantle, mostly of Clark. She put it back, adjusting it so it was in the exact spot she'd found it. So many memories were here, she marveled to herself. Even though she'd been Clark's friend since he'd been adopted, she was amazed with how little she knew about him. She could remember odd moments in school or at elsewhere, but where had this photo been taken, she asked herself, looking at another picture. What about this one; or that one? How well did she know him, she asked herself. How well did she know anyone? Suddenly Lana was wracked with a terrible fear. She wanted him back, right here and now, back with her. She wanted to tell him. tell him something.  
  
She sighed and stepped back, shaking her head. She was just running the same circles in her mind she always seemed to run these days. Ever since Clark and Chloe had started going out, she'd been happy for them, they were both such great friends to her and really cared for each other. But every time she saw them together, something ached in her stomach. It almost felt like jealousy, maybe even regret. But it was all so confusing to her; she had loved, did love, Whitney and he loved her. Chloe had had a crush on Clark for as long as she could remember, and now he had finally realized it. Everything should have been perfect. But it wasn't. Instead, she was left with that dull pain in her gut and a feeling of regret, of having lost something, something precious. Had it been him, Clark Kent? Was that it, she asked herself. Had she lost Clark, not Clark as a friend, but as something else. Had he-  
  
There was a sudden crash from the other room that made her jump and cry out in surprise. She whirled around to stare as Jonathon pulled the entire phone casing off the wall, ripping bits of plaster off with it. The telephone line trailed after it for a second, and then snapped off as he dropped the phone to the floor loudly. Martha and Chloe gaped at him, too shocked to speak. Pete and Lex stood behind Jonathon, watching impassively.  
  
"Jon," Martha stammered finally, staring at her husband, "what are you doing?"  
  
He prodded the phone with his foot and then smiled at her. "Just making sure you don't make any more phone calls, dear," he told her brightly. "Sorry about the mess though. I'll clean it up later, don't worry."  
  
"But the phone," she said again. "Why?"  
  
"Oh," he said suddenly and turned to Lex, "I almost forgot. You've got a cell phone right?" he asked him.  
  
"Good thinking," Lex said, pulling it out of his coat, "I wouldn't have remembered." He dropped it to the kitchen floor and then stomped down on it, breaking the phone into pieces.  
  
"Uhh. Lex, Mr. Kent, what's going on here?" Chloe asked fearfully, backing up.  
  
"Orders, Chloe," Pete shrugged. He took a few steps forwards, standing with Lex and Jonathon. "We stirred up a little bit of trouble here, and the only way we can put it right is to make sure we don't cause anymore."  
  
"That's why we're all going to sit tight now," Jonathon added. "Just wait things out."  
  
"And what about Clark?" Lana asked.  
  
"Clark will be back in his own time, don't worry," Lex said easily. "She promised to take good care of him."  
  
Something lurched in Lana's stomach as it all came together. "That wasn't the police just now, was it?" she asked them. The three men just smiled quietly at her.  
  
"Oh my God," Chloe muttered, her eyes going wide. She was silent for a moment and then she exploded, "That bitch! She called us up! She had the nerve to call us up!"  
  
Pete glanced over at Jonathon. "Where should we put them?" he asked idly.  
  
"Basement would probably be best," he said. "I'll take Martha; you boys will have to handle the girls." Lex and Pete nodded and then, almost as one, they dove forwards towards the girls. Instantly the room was full of movement as Chloe, Martha, and Lana scrambled to get away. Chloe leapt backwards, falling over the couch and onto the floor beside it. Lana saw Lex sprang over it after her, but then she was dodging away from Pete, who was charging after her like a linebacker. She jumped behind a chair, trying to keep it between them, but Pete was too fast for her. With instincts sharpened on the football field, he faked twice and she fell for it. He sprung around the chair and tackled her.  
  
"Careful, Pete," Jonathon snapped from the other side of the room. He was holding his struggling wife in a bear hug, pinning her arms to her side. "We don't want to hurt them." As he said this, Martha yelled and drove her heel into his foot. He grimaced and then chucked her over his shoulders like a bag of potatoes. "Sorry, Martha, but this is for the best," he said between clenched teeth.  
  
"But Clark!" Lana gasped, struggling on the floor with Pete. He had one of her arms pinned behind her and was trying to catch her other one fast. "You can't listen to Sarah, you have to fight!"  
  
"Sarah's just watching out for Clark," Lex remarked, struggling with Chloe. He turned to glance at Lana. "I'm sure she'll take good care of him," he promised her with a sneer.  
  
"That's it!" Chloe screamed and drove her legs upwards, kicking Lex off of her. She lurched to her feet, staring around at Lana and Martha. She had only started towards Lana when Lex threw himself at her, carrying her into the kitchen with his momentum. With a roar, he flung her bodily onto the cabinets. She lay there limply as pots and pans came crashing down around her. Lex stared at her for a moment, and then stumbled back into the living room.  
  
"Everything okay?" he gasped at Pete and Jonathon, wiping his brow.  
  
"Great," Pete wheezed, still fighting with Lana. Finally he succeeded in catching hold of her free wrist and started to twist it back behind her. With no other recourse, Lana twisted her head around and bit down deeply into Pete's arm. She tasted blood as he cursed and let go of her.  
  
"Little help here," Pete shouted, but before Lex could even start to move, there was a sudden hollow clang and he stiffened. His eyes glazed over as he fell forward, unconscious. Chloe stood behind him with a cast iron frying pan in her hand, blood dripping freely from her nose. Pete took one look at her and scrambled to his feet, forgetting Lana. As he dashed at Chloe, Lana kicked her feet out in between his legs, making him stumble forwards. Chloe met him head on, swinging the pan like a Louiville Slugger. There was another dull clang as the pan impacted with his skull and Pete fell besides Lex.  
  
The sight of both boys knocked unconscious had distracted Jonathon enough to let Martha struggle out of his grasp. She fell off his shoulder roughly, but managed to stay on her feet. Her husband tried to grab her again in a bear hug, but this time she was ready for him. Ducking under his arms, she kicked him fiercely in the crotch. His face went white and he dropped to his knees, staring blindly forwards as he held himself. Martha winced and almost reached out to help him. "Sorry, I'm so sorry," she said quickly. Jonathon grunted, still staring blankly forwards. From behind him, Chloe swung the pan one last time and Jonathon fell over on his side.  
  
"Chloe," Martha gasped, "he was already down!"  
  
"Oh, Sorry," she panted, her chest heaving as she tried to catch her breath. She dabbed at her nose with her sleeve, trying to staunch the flow of blood. "Guess I got carried away."  
  
"Everyone alright?" Lana asked out loud, climbing to her feet shakily. Her knees were so weak that she had to support herself by clutching a chair just to stay standing. Martha and Chloe both nodded weakly, staring down at the three figures on the floor.  
  
"I can't believe." Martha stammered, "I can't believe that Jon. they would."  
  
"They didn't have any choice," Chloe said, still pressing her sleeve to her nose. "It was Sarah, she called them up, told them to do it."  
  
"But how could she? How could she make them attack us? My husband." Martha choked up and knelt down by Jonathon, holding his head. "I'm so sorry," she murmured.  
  
"It's not your fault," Lana tried to comfort her. "Or his either. He would've never done that if she hadn't told him to. He couldn't help himself, none of them could."  
  
"Yeah, if there's anyone to blame, it's Sarah," Chloe rasped. She coughed and spit out a wad of blood, her face going a little green as she did.  
  
"Chloe," Martha said, seeing the state she was in, "we'd better get you to the hospital."  
  
"No," she shook her head, "there's no time. We have to get Clark back, right now." The look in her eyes was enough to make Martha and Lana stare. "We're the only ones that can do it."  
  
"But the police." Lana trailed off.  
  
"The police won't believe us. What? Are we going to tell them that a girl has kidnapped one of our friends and that she can order any man to do whatever she wants? They'd never believe us; we're going to have to do this one on our own." Chloe looked at them and then tried to smile. "Besides, Clark's saved us enough; I think we owe him one."  
  
Martha frowned for a moment, and then nodded. "We'll take the truck," she said curtly, starting towards the doorway. Chloe tossed the pan away and hurried after her. Lana spared one glance back at the boys then followed after the others.  
  
  
  
"Crap," Sarah muttered, flipping through the channels. Channels scrolled by almost too quickly to distinguish between them. "Crap. Crap. Seen it. Crap. Lame. Seen it." She paused at one and then shuddered. "Uhh, MTV, mega-crap," she said, flipping again. This continued for several minutes before something else caught her eye. "Ooh," she said excitedly, "Passions." She glanced towards the balcony quickly. "Clark! Passions is on," she yelled. "Come in here and watch it with me."  
  
He wandered in from the balcony, where he'd been admiring the panoramic view of Metropolis that their suite provided them. She glanced out the windows and shuddered involuntarily. "How can you like it out there?" she asked him. "It makes me dizzy just thinking about how high we're up."  
  
"Oh, heights don't bother me," he shrugged, sitting down on the couch. Sarah grinned at him then turned back to the TV. Instead of watching the program though, Clark sat there staring intently at her. Feeling his eyes on her, she started to get uncomfortable.  
  
"Watch the show, Clark," she said, exasperated.  
  
"Oh, sorry," he apologized. He turned towards the TV and she sat back again. Soon though, she started to feel uncomfortable once more. Again and again, she glanced back towards Clark, sitting there like a statue, staring at the TV. It was so unnerving, she thought, irritably.  
  
"So, do you like Passions?" she asked finally to break the silence.  
  
"Do you want me to like Passions?" he asked her back. Sarah stared in shock at his response.  
  
"Why? What do you mean?" she asked.  
  
"Do you want me to like it?" he asked again. "'Cause I will if you want me to."  
  
"No, no, Clark." She bit her lip, trying to figure out what to say. "I want you to like it here," she told him finally. "If you don't like the show, we can find something new to watch. Okay?"  
  
"Do you want me to change the channel?" he asked her, puzzled.  
  
"No! Why does every guy I talk to turn into an idiot?" She clicked the TV off and took his hand in hers. "Clark, this is important to me. I want you to be happy here with me. We can do whatever we want here, I can get us anything. I want to share this with you, do you understand?"  
  
"That sounds nice," he said happily. He smiled at her vacantly, gazing at her face. She sighed and leaned down, laying her head down on his knees. Immediately, he put his hands on her hair and started to stroke it gently.  
  
"That feels nice," she said happily. She closed her eyes, feeling more content and fulfilled than she ever had in her life. The feeling of his hands in her hair was heavenly, his strong fingers gently brushing through it slowly. She sighed and closed her eyes, starting to doze. "I love you, Clark," she whispered to him.  
  
"Do you want me to love you?" he asked her. Sarah woke up like she'd been doused with ice water. She sat up quickly, turning to stare at him. He smiled back at her pleasantly.  
  
"What did you say?" she demanded. Her voice broke as she said it, making her voice raspy.  
  
"I said, 'Do you want me to love you?'" he smiled. She stared at him, too stunned to respond. "I can, you know," he told her. "Just tell me to."  
  
"No," she yelled, startling him. Calming down, she said more softly, "No, I don't want to do that." Taking his head in her hands, she moved him around till they were eye to eye. "Clark, you stayed with me because you love me," she said forcefully. "That's why you're here. That's why you came with me, right?"  
  
"Whatever you say," he said blithely.  
  
"No, not whatever I say," she shook her head angrily. Her fingers were pressing deep into his cheeks, but neither of them seemed to notice. "Tell me the truth, Clark. I want you to tell me the truth, alright?" He looked puzzled, but nodded at her. "Now, why did you come with me?"  
  
"Because you told me to," he said promptly. Something rose up in her throat, but she forced it down.  
  
"Because I told you to?" she repeated in a whisper. "Because I told you to?" she said again. He nodded, gazing at her adoringly. Sarah could feel her heart beating in her chest, so loud, dangerously loud. She let go of his face to feel her pulse racing. Gasping, she sat back, blinking as the world seemed to swim before her eyes. It was all a lie, it had to be she told herself. He loved her, he did. He did. It wasn't because of her voice, it was because of her, all of her, the love she'd carried for him since they were kids. It had to be.  
  
But it wasn't; somewhere deep inside her she knew it was true. Clark didn't love her, he barely knew her. Her voice was the only thing holding him here. She broke suddenly, gasping and sobbing as tears poured out her eyes. Nothing had changed, she was still just the same old Sarah Sanderson, unpopular, unnoticed, unloved. Even with her voice, she couldn't seem to change that. She was still alone. No matter how many men she could charm, she would always be alone.  
  
"Sarah?" Clark asked, stepping nearer to her. She didn't respond as he wrapped his arms around her. "Is everything all right? You're trembling," he said gently, rubbing her arms. "It's alright," he told her soothingly. "I'm here, it's alright." Slowly, she relaxed, coming back to herself as he held her. She rested her head against his shoulders and was quiet for the longest time. He waited, holding her gently in his arms.  
  
Finally she raised her head and stared up at him. If he could have thought clearly, Clark would have been startled by how dull and lifeless her eyes looked. How sad and utterly empty they were. "Clark?" she asked him in a whisper. He nodded and looked down at her. "Love me," she told him simply. 


	8. Ch8

Chapter 8  
  
Hours later, an old and dusty trucked turned into the basement parking lot of the Lakeside Palace Hotel. It went swiftly along the rows of cars, trying to find an empty spot, but there were none. Instead, it turned into a bare space near the elevators. The doors opened and the three girls piled out of the car. Lana stumbled forwards from the car, staring around the basement nervously. Exhaustion had crept in after her fight with Pete, but there had been no way for her to relax in the long car ride. Every time her eyes would start to drift close, she'd see a flash of Clark; his eyes, his shining smile, and she'd bolt upright in her seat. She was beyond tired now, every joint in her body had a mind of its own and her legs could not stop trembling. If there was another fight waiting for them upstairs, she didn't like their chances this time. Martha seemed just as, if not more, worn out then she was. Lana watched as she staggered around the truck, her skin dangerously pale. The older woman wiped her forehead with the sleeve of her jacket, already dark from sweat. It almost looked like she was going into shock, Lana realized; which was perfectly understandable given the circumstances. Not only was Clark missing, kidnapped, but she'd had to fight off her husband of who knows how many years. Lana couldn't tell whether the wetness around her eyes was from sweat or tears, or, most likely, both.  
  
Chloe was a different story though. She jumped out of the truck besides Lana and promptly fell to her knees as she landed. Lana grabbed her shoulder and helped her up gently, hearing Chloe wheeze as she climbed to her feet. Steadying her legs with one hand, Chloe blotted underneath her nose with a blood stained piece of cloth. Of all of them, she had been hurt the worse in the fight and Lana doubted that she would still be standing after such abuse. Though she didn't say anything, Lana could see the tears in Chloe's eyes every time she moved. Yet, there was a fire in Chloe's eyes that seemed to keep her going. Shrugging off Lana's offered hand, Chloe limped over to the elevator and jabbed the up arrow forcefully.  
  
"Do you think Sarah's expecting us?" Lana asked as the doors opened.  
  
"There's no way of knowing," Martha told her. The doors closed behind them and the car lurched as it started to climb. "Jon or the others could have gotten free, found a phone to warn her."  
  
"It doesn't matter," Chloe said. "We have to get Clark back, whether she's expecting us or not."  
  
"Ready or not," Lana whispered to herself. She felt fear start to tighten up in her gut and she tried to force herself to relax. The fear didn't go away though; instead it seemed to grow even larger. It wasn't the nerves she'd get before an equestrian show or a race; this was something much worse. This fear was like what she'd felt when she'd been fighting Pete, but that had been so sudden she'd hardly had time to think about it, just fight for her life. Now as the elevator rumbled upwards, all Lana could do was think.  
  
"Do. do you think she'll make Clark." her voice trailed off, she couldn't finish it. Martha bit her lip, suddenly looking much older than she was. Lana was stunned as she saw the blind panic in her eyes, almost fear, when she'd said Clark's name.  
  
"If she tells him to." Chloe said slowly, "if she sends him against us, we'll have to fight him." She stared at the metal doors of the elevator, not looking at the other two girls. "We can't leave him with her," she said again, her voice almost hollow. "We can't."  
  
"But its Clark- ," Lana started to say.  
  
"Yes, it's Clark," Chloe snapped right back, "but it was also Pete and Lex. She didn't mind then, did she?" Lana stared at her and then shook her head.  
  
"Whatever happens," Martha finally spoke up, "you have to leave Clark to me." Chloe and Lana both looked at her in surprise. "Sarah's your responsibility, you'll have to keep her busy, but Clark is my son. Whatever happens or no matter what you hear, you have to leave Clark to me. You have to promise me that," she told them. She stared at the two girls until they nodded. "Good," she said, closing her eyes and leaning her head back.  
  
"What'll we do with Sarah?" Lana asked her. Her eyes still closed, she shrugged.  
  
"We'll decide later, I guess. But for now, if you can keep her busy she might not even get a chance to tell Clark to do anything."  
  
"If she hasn't had a chance to do so already," Chloe muttered. Lana felt like agreeing with her. Clark had been with Sarah for close to a day now. Who knows what they'd done together. That thought made her cold as she realized how true it was. No one knew how far Sarah was planning on taking this; how far she was willing to go. She could very well order Clark to kill them all, his mother and friends. When she'd first heard about Sarah's power, she hadn't thought much of it. It had seemed a joke, a stupid prank of a power. Now she knew differently. In a way, Sarah was much worse then the others who'd been changed forever by the meteor rocks. They could hurt, maybe even kill, but Sarah could control. She could force someone to damn themselves, make an innocent person do something completely atrocious, and then walk away from it, her hands physically clean. With a shiver, she wondered if they were coming in time to save Clark from that fate, or if they were already too late?  
  
The doors opened with a small ping and the three girls stepped out quickly. Lana was struck for a moment at the posh décor of the lobby. Nell had spent a lot of time and money on decorating their home and Lana had always considered it elegant, but this put everything they owned to shame. Chandeliers lit the vaulted ceilings, accenting large mosaics on the walls. Thick, rich carpets draped gleaming, mirror like hard wood floors. Chloe hardly seemed to notice any of it. She marched around a circle of black leather couches and straight up to the front desk. A balding, official looking man straightened up behind it, frowning as he took in her torn clothing. He cleared his throat as she stopped in front of the desk and stepped in front of the other clerks. "Yes, may I help you?" he asked, giving the three girls a practiced smile.  
  
"Probably not," Chloe told him and turned to the clerks behind him. "You've got two guests staying here, a guy and a girl about our ages. They probably just walked in and took one of the expensive rooms. We'd really like to know which one."  
  
"The guy would be tall with black hair and the girl would be a little shorter than me with long, brown hair," Lana spoke up. "Oh, and they might've gone by the names of Clark and Sarah."  
  
"I'm sorry," the man said, stepping in front of the clerks again, "but there is no one in the hotel matching that description. I oversee all the guests who stay in our suites and certainly no one's allowed to stay without checking in."  
  
"You mean the two in the penthouse?" one of the female clerks asked Chloe. Her boss turned around to stare at her.  
  
"Penthouse," Martha breathed out. "Yeah, it's probably them."  
  
"No one's staying in the penthouse," the manager insisted firmly.  
  
"You took them up yourself," the clerk remarked. She opened a cabinet underneath the desk, revealing a long tray with many slots. "If there's no one there, why are the keys gone?" He gaped at her and then looked down at the case in puzzlement.  
  
"But... I don't remember," he stuttered, staring off suddenly. He pinched his lower lip, looking very doubtful.  
  
"You wouldn't happen to have another key to the room, would you?" Lana asked the clerk. She nodded and pulled another drawer open.  
  
"Here," she said, handing it to Lana. They were the new type, more like a credit card than a room key. She glanced from Lana and Chloe to Martha and then leaned forwards slightly. "They run off and elope or something?" she asked the three girls. All three of them jumped suddenly, Chloe especially.  
  
"No. definitely not. well, something like it, but no.," Martha stammered at her helplessly.  
  
"We're here to take them home," Lana said quickly, grabbing Martha's hand and squeezing it gently.  
  
"Well, if you can get them out, I'd be willing to forget the whole thing, but someone's going to have to cover their room service bill. You wouldn't believe some of the things they've been ordering," she laughed, rolling her eyes. Lana laughed nervously along with her and started to pull Martha towards the door.  
  
"Thank you, we'll take care of it," she said as she tugged Martha after her. Chloe didn't budge however; she seemed to be rooted in front of the desk, glaring at the clerk.  
  
"What sort of things?" she asked her quietly. Lana winced as she heard the dangerous tone in her voice and pushed Martha the rest of the way towards the elevators. Hurrying back, she hooked her arm around Chloe's and yanked her backwards.  
  
"Never mind that," Lana hissed into her ear. "They probably just ordered take out, that's all."  
  
"That better be all," Chloe grumbled, shaking off Lana's arm. Martha waved them over impatiently from across the room, holding the elevator door open. Chloe and Lana hurried in and Martha stepped back, the door closing behind her. Martha pressed the button marked, 'Penthouse' and the elevator lurched and then started to move upwards. Soft classical music played quietly in the background as they rode up. Mozart, Lana suddenly thought to herself, identifying the piece. Why she was worrying about that now, and not about Clark, she couldn't understand. "Probably easier," she muttered to herself, answering her own question. Chloe and Martha glanced at her oddly, and she shook her head. "Nothing," she said, "just thinking out loud."  
  
"Mmmm." Martha nodded, still looking at Lana. "Girls," she said suddenly, "I meant what I said downstairs. You have to leave Clark to me, alright?" Lana and Chloe both nodded.  
  
"As long as I get to go after Sarah," Chloe added. Martha nodded, looking up at the floor numbers above the door. They were getting closer now.  
  
The car slowed, stopped, and the doors opened quietly. No one stepped out yet though. They stood there, staring out into a small hallway that branched out right and left from the doorway. The doors remained open for a few seconds, and then started to rumble close. Chloe shot out her arm and hit the 'door open' button on the wall. She looked back at Lana and Martha, her face set. "Everyone ready?" she asked in a steady voice. Lana took a deep breath and nodded. Martha bit her lip and then did the same. "Alright," Chloe breathed, closing her eyes briefly. She stepped out of the elevator and into the hall, glancing at the key quickly. Looking at the numbers on the wall, she started down the right hallway, then double checked the key and turned around to the left hallway. "This way," she said quickly, starting to run.  
  
"You're sure?" Lana asked her.  
  
"Very funny," Chloe snapped, staring at the room numbers. "There," she pointed down the hall to the doorway at the end. They hurried down the hall and stopped at the door. Chloe tugged the 'Do Not Disturb' sign off the handle and threw it behind them, angrily. Then she leaned in close to it and put her ear to the door.  
  
"Anything?" Martha asked her in a loud whisper. Chloe waved her to be quiet frantically and kept listening. After a moment, she leaned back, wincing as she did, and shook her head.  
  
"Someone's talking, but it's not Clark or Sarah. It might be the TV," she said quietly. She held up the key and looked at the other two. Martha and Lana nodded to her and she quickly slid it into the slot by the door. The green light by the handle blinked on and Chloe slowly opened the door, inch by inch. When there was enough room, she turned sideways and slipped inside. Lana followed after her, and after her came Martha. The doorway led into a foyer that was about the size of Lana's bedroom back home. Beyond it, the girls could see part of another room, but so far, no one else. The sound of the TV came somewhere beyond the foyer, but that was all, they couldn't hear anyone talking. Chloe moved around to the other side of the door and pushed it close just as quietly as she had opened it.  
  
Slowly, the three girls walked out into the other room, looking around nervously for some sign of Sarah or Clark. It was a much larger than they expected; a comfortable living room area in one end, with a small but fully stocked kitchenette in the other. A digital TV was blaring away in the corner of the living area. There were a trio of leather couches spaced around the room, draped with hotel towels and pillows. A white robe had been hung on top of a standing lamp in the corner, glowing brightly from the light underneath it. Martha sniffed as she prodded the edge of an empty chip bag that was lying on the floor. All around them were similar bags on the floor, some still with chips or pretzels spilling out of them. Lana turned around and stared into the kitchenette, wrinkling her nose at the piles of dirty plates and glasses in the sink. Someone had also found the wet bar apparently, there were stacks of the tiny bottles open all over the kitchen. There was a large pink stain at one end of the counter and it only took a moment's glance for Lana to tell that someone had attempted to make a strawberry daiquiri and failed miserably at it.  
  
"Kind of a slob, isn't she?" Chloe remarked.  
  
"I could think of worse things to call her," Lana muttered back. Just as she said it though, a door opened at the other end of the room and everyone froze as Sarah stepped out.  
  
"I think that's room-service.," she said as she stepped through the doorway, looking behind her. No one moved, there wasn't any place to hide. When she turned and saw them, Sarah froze in mid-step, staring at them. She was wearing a loosely tied terry-cloth robe and slippers, looking for all the world like she had just gotten up. Lana stared at her speechless, Martha's mouth moved up and down, but she didn't speak. Chloe didn't have that problem however.  
  
"Just who we were looking for," she breathed out, staring at Sarah with daggers in her eyes. Shaking off her daze, Sarah blinked and then smiled at them, her arms folded underneath her breasts.  
  
"Now I thought I took care of you," she greeted them. "Actually, I'm happy to see you here. Wait. no," she said again, "no, I'm not. What are you doing here?"  
  
"We came to take my son back," Martha said fiercely, stepping up besides Chloe. "What did you think you were doing up here with him, Sarah? How could you do this to him? To any of us?"  
  
Sarah smiled at her and tilted her head slightly, looking at her from an angle. "He never said 'no', Mrs. Kent. It's not like I did anything to him that he didn't want."  
  
"How can you say that?" Lana demanded.  
  
"Why else would he be here?" she countered, smiling wickedly.  
  
"We know about your accident," Chloe snarled.  
  
Sarah rolled her eyes dramatically and laughed. "Of course you do," she snapped, "you were there, remember?"  
  
"And what about your voice, Sarah?" Lana asked. "How many people know about that?" Sarah stared at her speculatively, pursing her lips. Finally she smiled and shook her head, tossing her hair across her shoulders.  
  
"Should have expected it what with Chloe being such a 'good reporter'," she shrugged. "So you know about it, big deal; doesn't change anything. Clark!" she called suddenly. Chloe cursed and started to run towards Sarah when she was abruptly brought up short. Dressed in his undershirt and jeans, Clark had quietly strolled through the doors.  
  
Lana stared at him in shock, the sight of him momentarily putting her off. They'd come all this way to rescue him, she'd at least expected him to be tied to a chair or something. At the least, he'd be upset, glad to have them here. Clark might not have been tied up, but he did seem glad to see them, glad to see anyone as a matter of fact. He smiled at them in a vacant, absent-minded sort of way and wandered over to a window, looking down over the city. She didn't even think that he'd recognized them at all.  
  
"Disappointing I know," Sarah told them. "Imagine how I feel though. The longer I talk to someone the dumber they seem to get. Well, maybe dumber isn't the word," she mused. "Maybe they just give up thinking and let me make all the decisions for them. It makes talking to them really difficult, but hey, like it wasn't before? And besides, it wasn't like I really wanted him for that anyways."  
  
Whatever response she was expecting, she didn't get. Chloe screamed something in rage and threw herself across the room towards Sarah. Stunned by the move, Sarah froze, gaping stupidly. Chloe hit her hard and they both tumbled back into the kitchen, rolling around on the tile floor, fighting savagely. Lana started forwards to help, but spared a second to glance back at Clark. He was watching Chloe and Sarah fight on the floor, an odd look of puzzlement on his face. He seemed confused, and for a moment Lana thought that he might be breaking free of Sarah's control.  
  
"Clark!" Sarah called out, still struggling with Chloe. She twisted her head out of reach of Chloe's hands and called out again. "Clark, get them! Fight!" The puzzlement washed off Clark's face like it had never been there, replaced by cold fury. Lana stared as he seemed to swell in size, radiating power. He'd always been good old Clark, who never got into fights or hardly raised his voice, but as he stared at her now, Lana could feel her stomach turn to ice. This was worse than Pete, or Lex, or even Jonathon; this was something much worse.  
  
Suddenly, Martha was there in front of Lana, blocking Clark from her. "Remember what I said, Lana," she cried. "Help Chloe!" Lana gulped and then nodded, dashing over to where the two girls were still fighting.  
  
"Get out of my way," Clark snarled at his mother. The coldness in his voice stunned her for a second, but she shook her head defiantly.  
  
"Clark, you can't do this," she pleaded with him. "We're trying to help you."  
  
"You're not my mother," he remarked, wrinkling his lips in disgust. "You're nothing to me. You can't even compare to me." She froze in disbelief as he said it, staring at him. His right arm twitched suddenly and it was probably only blind instinct that saved her life. Clark's fist screamed through the air where her head had been only seconds ago, and part of Martha's mind cried out, He tried to hit me. Clark tried to hit me! The other part, that coldly rational part, told her that it was a miracle she had been able to dodge it at all. If she couldn't find some way to reach him, her own son was going to kill her.  
  
"Clark! Stop this," she cried out, dodging away from him. He took a few more steps towards her and she retreated even further, knowing how useless even that was. If he wanted to, Clark could close the distance between them before she could blink. Behind her, she could hear Chloe and Lana still fighting with Sarah; she had to keep him away from the girls. Maybe if they could knock Sarah out, her control on Clark would shatter. But that was a pretty big maybe, she realized. Dodging to the side, she tried to put a table between herself and Clark, but he just grabbed it with one hand and tossed it aside absently. It hit the wall so hard that it exploded into splinters, showering Martha with dust and debris. Some part of her prayed the girls were too busy fighting to notice it. "Clark, you have to stop!"  
  
"Why do you keep calling me that?" he asked her. "It's not my name. It's just another of those human things you've tried to chain me down with so you could make me your own. To make me like one of you. Why? So you didn't have to feel so jealous when you saw how much better I was?" he shouted at her. "Did it make that feeling of worthlessness go away?" he smiled.  
  
"That's it!" she shouted and did something that she'd never done before, she reared back her hand and hit him. It seemed to be the night for unexpected moves, and this one had the same effect on Clark. All the anger left his face in an instant and was replaced by a look of hurt shock. His hand went to his cheek and touched it delicately, still staring at her. "I am your mother," she told him angrily, "and you will have some respect when you talk to me, young man. This isn't you, Clark, this person standing before me. I refuse to believe it. The Clark I raised is kind and caring, and he doesn't let someone control him and make him hurt his friends." She took his head in her hands then, her anger all used up. "Come back to us, Clark," she said gently. "Come back to us."  
  
"You get away from him," Sarah screamed from across the room. Lana was trying to pull her off of Chloe with little success, her fingers hooked in Sarah's hair. Suddenly, Sarah reared up backwards, driving Lana off balance. She stumbled backwards into the counter, wincing as the edge drove into her back. Shaking free of Lana, Sarah glared in triumph at Clark. "He's mine! You can't have him," she cried out. Martha hugged Clark even tighter, staring in horror at the girl. Sarah took a deep breath and opened her mouth.  
  
"Oh no, you don't," Lana muttered, and leaned back on the counter. Using both her feet she kicked out at Sarah's back, sending her flying forwards to the tile besides Chloe. Her head hit the floor hard and she twitched once, and then lay unconscious.  
  
There was a moment of perfect silence, as they all stared around in surprise. Almost in disbelief that it was over, Lana blinked, looking around at what was left of the apartment. Chloe lay gasping on the ground, her face deathly pale, but savagely triumphant. Martha just held Clark even tighter, crying too hard to speak. Clark seemed too disoriented to even stand on his own, but Martha was there to support him. Lana looked over at mother and son, and started to smile. "Did we win?" she asked them in a scratchy voice.  
  
"Yeah," Martha gasped between sobs, "I think we did." At that moment, the suite door flew open and Jonathon, Pete, and Lex burst into the room. They stopped on the threshold, staring at the wreck of the suite and then at Sarah lying on the floor. Jonathon saw Martha and Clark first and rushed over, enveloping the two of them in a bear hug. Martha cried even louder as he held them both, and no one was particularly surprised to see tears in Jonathon's eyes either.  
  
Lex eyed the reunited family and then Sarah's body on the floor. "Don't worry," he said dryly, rubbing a large, purple knot on his forehead, "we're here to rescue you."  
  
"Thanks," Chloe said, "but I think we got it."  
  
"You know what you can do though," Martha remarked, pulling back from her husband and Clark. She winced and held up the hand she'd hit Clark with. It was swiftly starting to swell and turn purple. "Could someone drive me to the hospital. I think I broke every bone in my hand." 


	9. Ch9

Chapter 9  
  
"So how'd you're parents take it?" Pete asked Clark as they walked out of school. It was already a few days after that night in Metropolis and this was the first time Clark had been to school since then. "I tried to call you up and ask, but your mom said you needed to rest."  
  
Clark shrugged uncomfortably and frowned. "Yeah, I know," he apologized. "I was in bed for about two days with a major headache; I could barely talk at times. Which was probably not a bad thing," he muttered. "My dad kept apologizing to everyone and my mom wanted to know everything that happened with Sarah, and of course, I couldn't tell her anything because I didn't remember a thing about it."  
  
"Wait a minute. So you're telling me you remember walking home with me." Pete started.  
  
"And the next thing I know, we're all driving down from Metropolis and it feels like someone's planted a metal spike in my forehead," Clark finished uncomfortably. For some reason, every time he thought about Sarah, he'd find himself getting nervous, awkward. He supposed that it was perfectly natural, but he couldn't talk to anyone, not even his parents, about it. Something always stopped him. Pete noticed it and glanced at him quickly.  
  
"What's the matter now?" he asked.  
  
"Nothing," Clark said immediately. "I'm fine."  
  
"Sure you are," Pete nodded sarcastically. "What's wrong?"  
  
"Nothing, honest," he tried to put him off. Glancing up ahead, he noticed Lana and Chloe sitting at a picnic table and waved to them. "How are you guys doing?" he asked quickly, sitting down besides Chloe. She smiled at him and shrugged listlessly. There were a number of dark bruises that Clark could see on her jaw and arms, but they didn't seem to bother her too badly. Lana had gotten off relatively easy, when compared to Chloe. She moved a little stiffly, but there weren't any visible bruises on her.  
  
"Oh, we're just fine this morning, Mr. Kent," Lana joked with him. "Chloe and I were just discussing going out for boxing next year. Maybe even the wrestling squad."  
  
"You've got my support," Pete said, touching the top of his head gingerly. "You wouldn't believe the size of the lump I woke up with after Chloe went all "Fight Club" on me."  
  
"Hey, if anyone was going insane, it was you, buddy boy," Chloe said hotly. "I was just a little innocent girl defending herself."  
  
"Mmm.," Clark muttered, nudging her gently with his shoulder, "well, I'm certainly glad I've got this little, innocent girl watching out for me." Chloe nudged him back, her face practically glowing.  
  
"Glad you feel that way," she said. Then her smile fell away and she looked down at him seriously. "But you are going to have to earn another rescue, Kent."  
  
"What?" Clark laughed.  
  
"I'm serious," she told him, biting into her lunch. "I'm thinking three dinners at least ought to buy you another rescue. But if you want the cavalry to come running, the price goes up to two gifts. And for me to nurse you back to health," she laughed, "you better break out the chocolates." He rolled his eyes and opened his lunch as everyone laughed. All in all, things were starting to get back to normal, he thought.  
  
  
  
"It's not every day I get asked to do this," Principal Kwan said lightly, staring over his desk. "We don't make a point of admitting felons back in at this school."  
  
"Yeah, funny policy, that," Sarah remarked. "And you might want to check the note on the bottom there. All the charges were dropped." She nodded to the folder he held and smiled brightly at him.  
  
"Yes," he muttered. "Rather convenient, but that's what I'd expect from having a lawyer for a father." He flipped through the pages idly, scanning the contents.  
  
Sarah smiled at him and toyed idly with the nameplate on his desk. "Yep, my dad. It was all him, and Mr. Hanlon the prosecutor, and nice old Mr. Udel, the judge. They were all so helpful."  
  
"I see there's a few comments in here from the officer in charge of your arrest," Kwan said, holding up the paper.  
  
"That would be Ms. Sawyer," Sarah frowned. "She wasn't so helpful."  
  
"I can see that," he said, reading. "She does everything here but call you a sociopath- no, wait. Yes she does. 'Arrogant, manipulative, dangerous.'" he said reading out loud. "So tell me," he finished, looking up at her, "why should I even consider letting you back in here?"  
  
Sarah leaned back in her chair and glanced out the window. From her vantage point, she could see Clark and Chloe and the rest at their table, laughing together. Her smile dipped into a sneer, and then grew larger.  
  
"Do you really want to know why?" she asked him, still looking outside.  
  
"I'm waiting," he said testily.  
  
"I want back in because of everything I'm missing; friends, love, affection, hell, even a moment's kindness would be nice. I want everything I can't have, and you know what?" she turned to him. "I'm gonna find a way to get it even if it kills everyone in this sorry excuse for a town. And along the way, I'm gonna do what I want, to whomever I want, whenever I want. I'm gonna have a grand old time, Kwan, and I'm gonna have it at everyone's expense." She leaned forwards and smiled at him. "Things are gonna change around here," she promised him in a low voice. "And not for the better."  
  
He stared at her in cold shock. Finally, he started to sputter, "Well I think that about answer that-"  
  
"Oh be quiet," she told him, rolling her eyes. His mouth snapped shut audibly. She glanced at him and smirked. "Be glad I didn't tell you to bite your tongue," she muttered. She walked around his desk and sat on the corner. Leaning over him, she pulled his tie out of jacket and tugged on it lightly. Kwan stared at her, his eyes bugging out in fear.  
  
"You like?" she asked. "I'm learning to control things better now. If I concentrate on it, I can still order people around without them going all happy idiot on me." She ran her finger over his face, letting the nail pass lightly around his eyes. "It's not useful that often, but it's fun to see the fear."  
  
"Well, here's you big shot, Kwan," she whispered in his ear. "You could tell the school about me, call the cops, do something. I'm a danger to all of your students, and not just the male ones. I'm a ticking time bomb and it's your duty to protect them." He looked at her fearfully, the muscles in his jaw writhing as he tried to speak.  
  
"But you're not, do you know why?" She walked back from behind his desk and sat down in the chair again. "Because you're not going to remember any of this. You're going to sign all the right forms to get me back in here, and then you're going to forget all about this little conversation, except for this: I want you to remember there's something wrong with me. You won't remember what it is, but you'll know it, deep down. I want it to be like a splinter in your brain, just itching away at you every time you see me. Just driving you mad, you know what I mean?" Principal Kwan stared at her, his eyes pleading silently. "Well what are you waiting for," she snapped suddenly, "get to it!"  
  
All at once, the fear left Kwan's eyes and he picked up the file he'd been studying. "I don't think we'll need this, will we?" he asked her. She smiled and shook her head as he dumped it in the garbage can. "There, I think that puts everything in order," he said lightly. He paused as he glanced at her again, and stared at her oddly.  
  
"Is there something the matter?" she asked, innocently.  
  
He shook his head quickly. "No. It's nothing." He opened up a desk drawer and started to pull out some forms. "Now, let's see about getting you re-enrolled," he said brightly.  
  
"Yes," Sara said quietly, glancing out the window again. "Please do," she smiled, looking down at Clark. 


End file.
